Our Newest Addition...

This past Friday, Jared's brother Jason and his wife Rachel welcomed their son Caleb into the world. Jared and I had the opportunity to spend Saturday in Knoxville to visit with our new nephew and the rest of Jared's family. Caleb came 2 weeks early but he weighed in at 6 pounds and 10 ounces and completely healthy.

It was...interesting...to be in the hospital as I am anticipating the birth of my own son. I was trying really hard not to make our time there about "me" because it was certainly not my day, but I have to admit, it was hard not to ask questions the whole time we were there and to dwell on the fact that I would soon be going through all of this. Honestly, though, I've decided ignorance is bliss because I would have rather not known the answer to some of the questions I asked.

Anyway, whatever I go through during the birth of our son, it will be worth it. But, we all know I'm a worrier. And let me tell you, the worrying has begun!

And just in case you're wondering, the "C" names are just coincidence, but Carter and Caleb will be pretty cute together!

The Sweetest Wedding

Jared and I had the opportunity to attend a wedding yesterday at 5:55 pm. This is the first "informal" wedding I've ever been a part of. The bride, though not dressed in a traditional wedding gown, was beautiful. The groom was smiling from ear to ear. There was no music, no grand entry of the bride, no flowers, no photographer. Just the pastor, the bride and groom who casually walked together onto the stage, 4 family members, and Jared and me. That was it. It was right before Wednesday night youth started and the sanctuary is right above the youth room. So, in the background you could hear kids downstairs laughing and talking and playing music. There were probably a hundred people busily doing things around our church who had no idea a wedding was even taking place. It was amazing!

For the first time I got to experience a wedding that was about nothing more than getting married. How refreshing! This couple knew they were in love, knew they wanted to be together for the rest of their lives, and that was enough. Now don't get me wrong, I loved our wedding. We had so much fun! And picking out the music and the flowers and the dresses were all part of that fun. But I realized last night how much those things can really detract from the most important thing-the marriage itself.

It made me think about how often we do this in our lives. It seems like everything becomes a production, bogged down in the details and appearances. Even our Christian walks often boil down to how much we can do at church, what others will think about us and how WE feel about our current circumstances. Rarely do we ever have the to opportunity to take away all the hoopla and just express our love for our savior. When was the last Sunday morning that you woke up so excited to go and attend worship for no other reason than just because you wanted to worship? I realize Sundays normally play out a little differently for those of us that are on staff at a church, but honestly, for me, it's been a long time! So that's my challenge for you for this palm Sunday...look forward to worshipping Jesus!

Okay, no more posts about things other than the baby. I know that's why you read this blog anyway!

The Easter Bunny

If you are looking for a fun way to share the Easter story with your kids, here it is. One of the ladies that works for me, Deborah Fanneli, wrote this poem this week for our kids. If you're a publisher, give me a call...this could totally be a children's book. All we need is some illustrations!

The Easter Bunny

There was a little bunny
hopping along the way
watcing all the children
singing while they played

The children were waiting for Jesus
He was coming this day
to the town of Jerusalem,
they hushed their singing to pray

The little bunny watched quietly
as the children said "amen"
and ran to gather palm leaves
for their very special friend

As they laid their palm leaves on the road
they all started to sing
Hosanna! Hosanna!
Jesus, our King

The little bunny started hopping
all along the way
he followed Jesus to Jerusalem
on this very special day

Things weren't the same in town
like it was while on the way
angry men were questioning him
then Jesus left to pray

The little bunny followed Jesus
and several of his friends
to a garden called Gethsemane
until the day did end

Suddenly there was lots of noise
and all those angry men
took Jesus away and
the little bunny didn't see him again

...until...

A few days later, the little bunny
was sitting on a hill
he saw Jesus on a cross
and he was very still

The little bunny wrote his story
of what he saw that day
and colored all his Easter eggs
and this is what they say:

Brown is for the wooden cross
Red is for his blood
Purple's for his royal Robe
Yellow is the compassion he had for those who had him hung

Orange is the sunshine on the day he did arise
Green is the new beginning, just like in springtime
Blue is for the heavens where we'll be with him someday
And that's the story of the Easter Bunny and why he colored his eggs that way.

Anyway, I just thought that was a really cute idea of how to incorporate the Easter Bunny into the Easter story. Mrs. Deborah is so creative...we are lucky to have her working with us!

No Butterflies in my Tummy

Well, it's official. There is a baby in my tummy. I had taken the test, heard the heartbeat, seen the pictures and knew my stomach was growing, but now I know for sure. It turns out my little man is going to be VERY active! Everyone had always said when the baby moved it just felt like little butterflies in my tummy. Well, I must have missed that phase, because that is not really what it feels like right now. You know that feeling when you go over a really big hill in your car going just a little too fast and your stomach kind of drops a little? That's what it feels like every time Carter moves. Now don't get me wrong...it's a great feeling and I love it. It definitely makes me feel like I am closer to my baby. But, it's not at all what I expected. I can't wait until his movements are big enough and bold enough for Jared to feel it too.

On another note, we went to the doctor this week for a check up and another ultrasound since Carter was uncooperative last time. This ultrasound technician agreed that he was definitely a boy, so there's no mistake there. Everything in his heart (which is what they were having trouble seeing last time) looks great. He weighed in at about a pound and a half and completely healthy.

The appointment with my doctor was pretty much the same. She asked me if I had any questions, I asked her my questions, and then she acted like I was stupid for not already knowing the answers. But, hey, I'm a first time mom. I'm really not a hypochondriac...I just don't know what's normal right now. For instance, my back hurts like crazy on the left side only. I know that back pain is common in pregnancy, but I've only gained a total of 10 pounds, so I wasn't thinking this would be an issue yet. I also know that urinary tract infections and kidney infections are common. So, I just thought I'd mention it. Her response to me: "Just be thankful it doesn't hurt on both sides." Not even the common courtesy to say, "you're right, UTI's are common in pregnancy, but I don't think we should be worried." So annoying! Thankfully I will be moving on to a new doctor in the practice at our next visit.

Everyone has been asking me how the nursery is coming. Let me just tell yah...it's not! We have a room in our house picked out for the nursery and our theme/bedding, but that's the extent of my plans. I realize this is highly unlike me. Some of you were probably taking bets that I would have the nursery done (or at least started) 2 weeks after we knew we were having a boy. But, I am amazingly not in a hurry. The thought of moving all of Jared's office furniture to a new place in our house frankly exhausts me. So, we probably won't be moving anything until Jared's done with school in June. That's right people...I am going to wait until the last minute to do it! Mark it on your calendars :)

Well, that's about all I have to report right now. My sister-in-law Amanda got a great deal on some super cute maternity dresses at Belk and I got those in the mail yesterday. So, I will leave you with a pic of me sporting the black one yesterday to work. You can't quite appreciate the size of my baby bump in this dress, but it's still pretty cute. Thanks for checking in!