December 30th, 2013

On December 30th, 2012, R shocked me by agreeing to try a single DS cycle. On December 30th, 2013, I returned home from Christmas vacation just 66 days away from our baby's due date.

Although our path wasn't as straight as we imagined it would be, we saw the Lord do amazing things in 2013. Not just in blessing our family with this pregnancy but in growing our family spiritually and relationally.

We saw the Lord provide for us in very specific ways: with my being laid off and then finding a work from home job so quickly, with provision of finances to cover my maternity leave and Aaron's birth, and providing a better insurance plan through R's employer.

R and I have continued to grow closer to the Lord and, in turn, closer to each other. Little K is loving Awanas and is retaining scripture. Little K and R have continued to grow in their father-daughter relationship and I love seeing how they interact. I have begun mentoring a wonderful girl I met five years ago and am seeing the Lord work in both of our lives with this time together.

The coming year holds so much excitement. Obviously, we have Aaron's birth to look forward to in less than ten weeks. In April, I'll begin working toward getting back in shape for the rest of the year. Little K will be finishing up this tough year in second grade and we are praying for her third grade teacher already. We are also completing an application for a wonderful charter school near us and are praying for the Lord's will in the outcome.

I have big dreams for our family's study of scripture this year. My mom gave Little K a copy of the children's Jesus Calling for Christmas last year and I picked up the adult copy two weeks ago. My goal is to read Jesus Calling each morning and to do the children's book with Little K at least three times per week. I also have a meal-time devotions book that I would like to do at the dinner table with R and Little K three times per week. I will be finishing up the BSF study of Matthew in May and would like to complete the Esther study my mother gave me during the summer break. The women's small group I attend will be studying the book Stronger: Finding Hope in Fragile Places January-May of this year, too.

I also have Redeeming Childbirth to finish reading and all of my HypnoBabies materials to complete, both in the next nine weeks. No pressure!

We are excited to see how the Lord will shape and mold our family in 2014. And we can't wait to meet Aaron and make Little K a big sister!