two years old (the actual birthday)

happy birthday to you

happy birthday to you

happy birthday to Luke!

happy birthday to you!

We celebrated Luke's 2nd birthday with a low-key morning.  Woke up, opened two gifts, then out to Luke's favorite breakfast.  :)

I was in a wedding on Luke's actual birthday and had to get to the wedding party festivities (girl time!), so the celebration ended shortly after breakfast.  But it was such a wonderful morning spending time as a family and spoiling my two year old (oh my gosh I can't believe it!) little man!

a quiet morning

We finally had a nice slow morning.  No where to be.  No appointment on the calendar today.
Just Luke + Mommy and the most beautiful weather in the entire world.

Didn't have to go to work.  Didn't clean or prep or launder or pay bills.  We just played. 
And it was wonderful. 

a busy month

We are in the middle of one of the busiest months I can remember.

We've had more appointments than I ever though possible.  Orthotists.  Orthopods.  ENTs.  OBs.
Luke had an appointment with his orthopedic specialist yesterday and we got a great report.  He's continuing to make progress on his own and we don't have to go back for six months.  :)  I had another ultrasound last week and the tech let me see baby girl in 4D for a few minutes.  She's so cute I think she has Luke's little lips already!  She looks great and is growing just perfectly.

We were out of town three out of four weekends in January.  We had so much fun traveling with friends, visiting friends, going to the Bahamas, and going to a bachelorette party.  

We are busy preparing for a baby shower (not mine!), a birthday party (guess who's almost two!), and a wedding (love weddings!).

We are spring cleaning and getting ready for baby #2.  She will be here before we know it.

We've had far too little play time.  Too little park time.  Too little time with friends.  And I am desperately missing routine, slow mornings, church, and our community group.

A little Instagram for ya.  Just because he's so stinkin' beautiful.

our bahamaian getaway

Let's just say I recovered from the flu just fine.

Quite comfortably, in fact.  :)

Each year, if Adam's company meets their goals, the entire company is rewarded with an amazing trip.
This year, after all the employees completed the necessary requirements, we went on an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas!

Now that alone is worth celebrating with a banana split.  Or two.

We spent four days at the beautiful Atlantis Resort.  It was incredible.

And beautiful.

And FUN!

There were beautiful aquariums.

And shark tanks.

And long walks on the beach in the cool sunshine!

We were lazy.  And goofy.

And romantic.

And we celebrated 23 weeks at the most beautiful beach I've ever seen.  It was awesome.

this is what the flu looks like...

... at 22 weeks pregnant.  :(

Praying protection over baby girl as this mama's body is sick and tired. 
And protection over little man and husband - that their bodies are strong in defense. 

bring on the PINK!

We are having a baby girl!  And we couldn't be more thrilled! 

peace

Today we had the anatomy scan.
If you've ever been pregnant, you probably know.
It's the big one.  The fun one.  The gender-revealing-one if you choose.
The one where they measure long bones and check the heart for four chambers.
The one where they scan the brain and see how many vessels are in the cord.
The one where they show you the kidneys, abdomen, mouth, eyelids, fingers, and toes.

Right after Luke was born I wondered if I would be able to have another baby.
Because of his leg, I was so worried that I would have another little one with special needs.
Could I handle it?  Would it be fair to the child?
What if it was something much worse than a leg?
What if I was not meant to have babies?  

But time passed and eventually I just knew that we would do it all again. 
But I also knew that I would spend nine months terrified.  Waiting.  Wondering.  Scared.

And then we were pregnant.
And in the moment that I got that positive test....
In my bathroom.  Alone.
I was filled with the most incredible, overwhelming, tangible sense of peace.

A whisper deep in my soul and right into my heart.
It's going to be okay.

Not that it would be perfect or easy.
Not that this child would be healthy.
Not that pregnancy would be textbook.

But that no matter what.
It would be okay.

And that peace has stayed with me throughout the last twenty weeks.
I can honestly say that I have worried very little.
There are days when I have to stop and choose to trust, yes.
But the choice has been easy because the peace fills me completely. 

To be perfectly honest...
I have worried more that I would start to worry than I have worried about this baby.
Does that even make sense?  I worry that I will lose the peace.

I worried about this as we approached the big ultrasound.
But all I felt was peace.  And excitement!
I could not sleep for three nights but I was not worried!  I was excited!

Today was awesome.
It was filled with joy and surprise and laughter and happy tears.

And although I am so glad that I know a little more about the babe in my belly...
I am most thankful for the peace that was with me all day long.

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 


We'll reveal the gender soon.  I'm not good at keeping secrets.  ;)
But tonight, I wanted to share what is most important.