ATL Day 3

It's so hard to remember what happened on day 3 now that our life has been turned upside down a bit. Shoot, I can't even remember what the actual date was now! Oh yeah, day 3 was my birthday. We went to the Coca Cola Museum and spent the morning there. It was a lot of fun, but our favorite part was the tasting part. We got to taste soda's from around the country. Most were horrible, but there were a couple that we liked. Toward the back was a section where you went up to a computer screen and could flavor your favorite Coke products. For example, you could pick coke and then flavor it with raspberry, lime, vanilla, orange, etc. The possibilities were almost endless. All of us really enjoyed that. When we exited, we all got our own glass bottle of coke that we got to keep. The kids were a bit disappointed that they didn't get to drink it, but we were all pretty "coked out" for the day. After that excitement, we went to the fountain of rings. It's located where the olympics were held. It's basically exactly what it says... a fountain of rings. The kids got to run in and out of the water with a million other kids. They had a lot of fun and Jeff and I enjoyed people watching. We went back to the hotel and got ready to go to the American Girl store and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Emily was completely overwhelmed with everything at the AG store and ended up picking out new pj's and a carrier for her doll, Belle. She also picked out the big doll that she is going to get for her birthday. She had her pick of any doll in the store and she picked Emily. We went to Cheesecake Factory afterward and ate until our hearts were content. One funny thing was that since the restaurant was right outside the mall, we parked our car near AG and walked inside the mall to the restaurant. We made sure to ask the hostess if they would lock the mall doors since we had parked pretty far away. She said they wouldn't lock the doors to the mall entrance, but they would lock the store doors. SO, after our bellies were FULL, we walked to the mall doors and of course, they were locked. We walked what seemed like forever in the ATL heat and finally got back to our car. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were DONE. We were able to go to the pool and let the kids play in the water until after 10pm. It was a wonderful birthday spent with my favorite 3 people.

Day 3 Pics

More Pics Day 3

I really should learn how to add more pictures to 1 post....

I love this man!! And notice that nice birthday present in the background?! :-)

Shands Family of 5

Well, everything is confirmed and we are set to have baby #3 on or around March 8th, 2013! We got to have an ultrasound first thing at the doctor on Friday and got our first picture of this little one. There isn't much to see in the picture, but when I looked at that screen and saw its little heart beating ever so fast, my heart skipped a beat. We can't hear the heartbeat until after the 1st trimester, but the tech measured the heartbeat and it was 160 bmp. Perfect. We made it "official" yesterday by putting up pictures that my friend, Elizabeth Lee took for us. We are overwhelmed with the amount of support by all of our family and friends and look forward to sharing this blessing with everyone.

Today's the Day

Well, today is the day that I go see the Dr. I have been a complete basket case for the last 24 hours. I can't stop my mind from running a million miles a minute. For some reason, I have been terrified about miscarrying. I have absolutely no idea why because I didn't have problems with my pregnancies with P and E and I don't know anyone that has had one lately. Maybe that's it... I find myself doubting that everything could go smoothly again. I mean, how many people get to have 3 absolutely healthy and normal pregnancies? I know the answer - LOTS. It just seems like fear has absolutely taken over me for the last 4 weeks. I don't like it because I'm letting satan take control of this blessing. I am so thankful for Jeff and his encouragement through all of this. He sent me a text this morning that just said "Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7. I am so thankful for a husband who cares and prays for me. I couldn't imagine going through this without him. Hopefully I'll get to update later with all the details about how everything is perfect. :-)

Honor

So, like all pregnant women, I've been pretty hormonal and emotional. This morning, I was listening to Phillips, Craig, & Dean's "Your Grace Still Amazes Me". I flipped my Shutterfly calendar over to July and I saw the 2 pictures of Emily with her Paw Paw and it completely melted my heart. I've always loved those pictures, but today, I fell in love with them in a different way. Just to think about the honor that God has placed before Jeff and myself to be the earthly parents of another child is so humbling. I completely broke down while sitting at my desk, hoping that my coworker wouldn't notice and ask what was wrong. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong, but complete joy that has overwhelmed my heart. Little joy that God has created inside of me, your Daddy and I are so so very excited that God has created you and that we get to be your Mommy and Daddy. You are a very unexpected blessing that we wouldn't trade for anything in the world. We already love you more than we ever thought possible and thank God for you. Thank you Lord.

W.O.W.

If there were bigger letters for the title, I would have used them. Saturday night, Jeff and I were very shocked to find out that we are expecting baby #3. I wanted to start blogging during this pregnancy as soon as possible so I am actually writing this on Monday, July 2nd, but will not publish it until we are ready to "go public". Jeff and I have felt complete as a family since Emily entered this world. We have been asked many times if we are going to have any more children and have been very quick to respond with a "NO". As God often reminds us, we are not the ones in control, nor do we know best and our plans are often times not the plans He has for us. We feel very humbled and excited about this little (big) blessing, but are still in shock and to me, it still feels totally surreal. I can't keep a secret from myself so I convinced Jeff to let us tell Preston and Emily and they are very excited. Preston can't wait to hold his baby brother or sister and Emily can't wait to be a little Mommy. She has already tickled my tummy (the baby) several times and asked Jeff if we could go to the hospital already. It's going to be a LONG 9 months, but I'm excited to see what God has in store for us and how He is going to use this. Today, I believe I am 4 weeks, 2 days preggo. I will see Dr. Cole on Friday, July 27th for my first prenatal visit. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I believe that verse more than ever right now.