37 weeks+

This was at 36 weeks :)

We are soooo close to meeting this little boy!

How far along: 37 weeks and some :)

Size of baby: Last week I was measuring a week and half ahead of schedule.  Eeek.  When I asked the doctor what that meant, he said, "you're not going to have a 5lb baby"  I'm just really hoping he will be less than 9 lbs..for my sake.

Total weight gain:  +31 lbs...phew

Movements: He has busy days and not so busy days but he's still the cutest thing squirming around in there.  I believe he is definitely running out of room and at times he presses on organs which makes mommy very uncomfortable.  I still love feeling and watching him move around.

What I miss:  being comfortable

Cravings: nothing new

Symptoms: I am pretty uncomfortable at this point and have consistent heartburn but still pretty sure my baby is not going to have any hair :) 

Best moments of the Week:  Starting to feel like we are really ready for him to arrive.  My mom came to town and helped me clean and organize the whole house. Bless her. The nursery is so close to being done! I feel like he could come any day and we would feel good about it :)  It is still pretty surreal thinking about him joining us but we are so thankful and excited for this new, crazy season of life!

A letter

My dear son,

You are getting ready to arrive into this crazy world! It is so hard to believe that we will be meeting you face to face within the next month.  I think about that moment often, the moment when I will first see your little face and little body and little toes.  I think about what it will be like to first hear the sound of your voice crying.  It will be such a precious noise. I often think of what it will feel like when the nurse lays your little body on me and I get to hold you for the very first time. I'm pretty positive that I will want time to stand still during that moment.  I also think about what it will be like to see your dad hold you for the first time.  He is going to be so happy and beaming with pride, I am confident.  We just love you so much already.  

There are so many things that we want for you, for your life. We pray for you all the time.  We pray for the Lord's protection over your life.  He is the one that created you and He has been sustaining your precious life.  He has been perfectly knitting you together over the last 9 months. You are a miracle. He loves you infinitely more than we are even capable of loving you.  We pray often that you will know His love and believe on Him at such an early age that you will not remember a time of  not knowing Him.  We pray that you will love His word and walk in obedience to it.  Your dad always prays that God will make you a "warrior" for Him.  He wants you to always fight and stand strong for righteousness, even when it is most difficult to do so. Real, meaningful, abundant life is only found in Jesus.  That is the life we long for you to live.

We are aware that you are about to rock our world as we know it.  Your dad and I love each other so much and are so thankful that the Lord has chosen us to be your parents.  We know our lives will never be the same again and we welcome the change with open arms.  You are worth all the sleepless, worrisome, crazy days and nights ahead.  I have no doubt you will keep us on our knees and in desperate need of God's grace and provision. You son, are a blessing, a heritage from the Lord and a reward from Him.  I could not be more thankful for your little life.

you are dearly loved,

Mommy

"...and be thankful"

I have recently been studying the book of Colossians in my quiet times with the Lord.  What a rich letter Paul wrote.  It has been nicel that our pastor has been teaching through it as well which has helped me understand it more.  There is so much truth to glean, conviction to be felt, and application to live out.  I could write for days on what the Lord has been teaching me but thought I would just share what I was reminded of this morning.  As I looked over the verses from the sermon yesterday, Colossians 3:15-17, the common theme was thankfulness. Verse 15 says "and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...And be thankful", v16 "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another...with thankfulness in your hearts to God", v17 "whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father.

I have been reflecting this morning if my life and my words reflect "thankfulness in my heart".  If there is any season of my life that my heart should reflect thankfulness, it is this season of life.  Yet, somehow I still find things to complain about or reasons to be discontent.  I have nothing to complain about and everything to be thankful for.  I am especially thankful for our little boy that we will be meeting so soon. (5 weeks or less!) I have been praying for this little boy almost daily since Lan and I got engaged.  I asked the Lord often that He would be gracious in allowing us to conceive a child and that I would have the privilege of experiencing pregnancy and carrying a little life within me.  He saw fit to answer this prayer with a "yes", a quicker "yes" than I would have dreamed. Our hearts overflowed with thankfulness when we realized God was saying yes to this deep desire of our hearts. Yet...somehow, now I find myself bordering on complaining, almost daily.  I "share"/complain about feeling so heavy, I will never look the same, being so uncomfortable, my back hurts, my hips hurt, I have lots of heartburn, sleep is interrupted 8 times a night by my tiny bladder, there's so much to get done still, etc...etc.. I don't think it's wrong to be honest when someone asks me how I feel...but I want my "feeling" of thankfulness to so far outweigh feelings of discomfort, that that is what I feel inclined share.  It's just amazing how quick I am to forget the Lord's goodness and faithfulness.  This baby boy and this pregnancy is a GIFT, a blessing, not something that was promised but something the Lord, in His mercy saw good to give.  All that to say, if you read this and you talk to me...don't allow me to go on about discomforts, remind me of truth.  I know when he arrives, it will be a whole new set of "struggles" and "discomforts".  Even then, I am praying that my heart chooses thankfulness.  I know it will be easier said than done :)

The last verse I read this morning was very fitting as I reflected,  Colossians 4:6--"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."

Thankful for the Lord's patience with me.

Our 1st Anniversary

We celebrated our one year anniversary about a week and a half ago! While it didn't go exactly how we thought, it was sweet nonetheless. We were in SC to see friends and family. The night before our anniversary I began have contractions around 8:00 pm and they continued to stay relatively strong and regular throughout the night.  I didn't go to sleep, as I was trying to keep track of how far apart they were.  Lanie stayed up with me almost all night, keeping me company and keeping me calm and happy. Therefore we unexpectedly started enjoying our anniversary together as soon as it began at midnight :)

We ended up going to the hospital around 7am because the contractions hadn't let up and had been 2-7 minutes apart for a couple hours and I felt like I had to go in to make sure I wasn't actually in labor.  And although we were exhausted and that's not where we wanted to spend the morning, we made the best of it.  While I was being monitored, we got to hear our little boy's heartbeat for over 3 hours and hear all the swooshing movements he was making.  We loved that part.  The entire time we were there, I was reminded how blessed I am to be married to Lanie.  He was so sweet, encouraging, and hilarious the entire time.  He kept me calm and laughing all the while being hooked up to machines and fluids that made me feel super uncomfortable.  After a few hours, my contractions spread out and the let me go home.

Our romantic anniversary :)

We got to eat lunch with my fam quickly and then headed back to Knoxville.  I was anxious to get back, not be on the road, and be back near my doctor.  Thankfully, I didn't have many contractions on the way home.  Once we got home we got to relax, exchange gifts, and eat the top of our wedding cake :)  It was great.

Speaking of gifts, Lan got me the best gift. When we were first reintroduced in 2010, we both had blackberry phones and our primary source of communication those first couple month was via blackberry messenger...as in throughout the day, every day.  Long story short, neither of us have had those phones for a long time and I assumed all of those conversations were lost.  However, Lan had saved all of our conversations since the very first one. He had them all bound into a hardcover book, a 160 page book.  I cried, then laughed A LOT as I read through our interactions with each other.  I am so thankful that we will forever have those first bits of communication that would lead to our marriage.

I could not be more thankful to be Mrs. Lanie Britton.  I am a million times more thankful today than I was on our wedding day.  Our first year of marriage was just blissful. I know every season of life won't be as sweet or easy or fun but I'm so glad our first year has been just that. He has made an effort every single day to make me feel loved, cherished and appreciated. I couldn't have dreamed up a man better suited for me.   The Lord sure is good. So incredibly good.