The Ultrasound Results....

We are having a.......... BOY!!

Judah Eleazar Gray!!

Yesterday was spent at the docs and then having a 45 minute ultrasound. It was an awesome experience. I loved watching Judah moving around and being able to see every bone and organ! It was amazing! The other ultrasounds I've had have been pretty quick. Usually 15 minutes at most. So, this was a surprise at how long it took and how in depth they looked at everything. He is doing great! I surpassed all the docs expectations in all my screenings even though they consider me "elderly" since I'm pregnant at 42!! Thank you, Jesus!!

I have 18-20 weeks to go! Not much longer now! Judah will be here before we know it!

Hannah is a little bit disappointed. She wanted very much to have a little baby sister. You know, we do need to even things out a little bit. We'll have 4 boys and a girl! As my sister says, at least I got my girl! I'm pretty sure Hannah will be fine, once Judah gets here. She'll be so excited to have a baby in the house!

Now, it's time to go through baby clothes and other items and see what I'm needing for little Judah! Fun time!

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me.

(The poll results showed that ya'll were thinking girl--64%)

He's quick and sneaky!!

Caleb requested pizza and macaroni and cheese for his birthday. So, I found B1G1 Free Little Caesar's pizza coupons online. The coupons expired on the 28th, so we decided to split his birthday meal into two dinners and start on Wednesday. So, Dakota and the littles and I all went in the van to Little Caesar's for pizza. Since it is right next to WalMart, I just had to go in for a few things (you know how it is). Actually, I'd still not gotten his birthday gift. Hannah wanted to pick something out for him, too. So, the plan was to order the pizzas and then Hannah and I would go in for the gifts and leave Dakota and Caleb in the van. Well, Caleb was NOT happy with this plan at all. He wanted to come in and "pick out" his gifts! Ha! We pulled in and parked and lo and behold Caleb decided that he needed to go to the bathroom, of course! So Dakota got the honors of taking him in to the bathroom while Hannah and I proceeded to the toy section. When we got back to the van, Dakota shared the account of his bathroom run with Caleb. He said that Caleb told him, "I know right where the bathroom is and I'll show you. What you do is you just follow Mama and Hannah all over the store." Hilariously sneaky! And, nope Dakota did NOT fall for it!

Welcome 2011!

3 P's for the new year! No, not the peas from Veggie Tales, silly! What I'm talking about is:

Purpose

Prepare

Practice

These ideas have been swirling around in my heart after our New Year's Eve service at Harvest Church last night. I was really challenged to step out and be what God wants me to be in 2011. No more excuses! No more being a cry baby!

Purpose to do His will in our lives. We must be determined to do it no matter what. We must commit to walking in His ways and make it a minute by minute daily commitment to serve Him, honor Him in all that we say and do. We can't be wishy-washy any longer. No more dishonoring the Lord with our half-hearted attempts to do what He's called us to do. Read the Bible, pray, act on His Word. Move forward in 2011 with purpose and walk out His calling on your life.

Prepare for His eminent return. Do you know what He's looking for when He returns? A pure and spotless bride. Are we living our lives in purity? Are we living our lives looking for Him at every turn? Are we preparing ourselves by living our lives in a way that pleases Him? Are there areas that we need to clean up, to fix, to ask the Lord to help us with? Are there areas that we need to step up to the plate and with boldness declare He is Lord to others? Are we intimidated by unbelievers or do they spur us on to show them God's love and how much they need Him? We need to be bold and not shirk our God-given talents and abilities. Move forward in 2011 preparing to meet Him one day.

Practice what we preach. It's so much easier to tell others how it should be done, even our children. This has especially hit home with me. We tell them how to do things, but do we show them how to love the Lord and serve Him in all they say and do? I'm pretty good at teaching it, but I'm not so sure I'm that great at showing it to them and modeling it before them. I've heard it said before that we are not supposed to point them to the cross, we are supposed to take their hands and lead them there. Am I leading or pointing? Are you leading others to Him or just pointing them to Him in a religious hypocritical way? Move forward in 2011 and put into practice what you've been taught, what you preach, who you really want to be.

You can do it! I can do it! Let's work together in the Body of Christ to make 2011 the best year ever! If we will all be determined to do this the Body of Christ will move in unity and we will be amazed at what God can do in all of us and through all of us this year!

Ultrasound Next Week!

I will have my ultrasound next week (Tues., Jan. 4th) and we will find out if we are having a boy or a girl! We can't wait to see what this baby will be.

The names we have picked out:

Boy: Judah Eleazar

Girl: Shalom Ariella

Ok.....now vote in the poll on the righthand margin. Are we having a boy or a girl?

New Family Pics!

New Couch!!

We got this beautiful leather couch from Lora-Joy and Andy when we went to see them at Thanksgiving. We went back to get it 2 weeks later. It fits perfectly in our living room and we are loving it! Thanks, Andy and Lora-Joy!

Victorian Christmas Class

We made some really pretty Victorian boxes for Hannah's online class. The girls (Ashley & Becca Jolin took the class with us) had a lot of fun making these: