Prayers in the Nursery

Each day, we get closer and closer to Nelson's birthday! Still surreal to think we're about to have our baby boy in our arms! One of our favorite spots to go for prayer is Nelson's nursery. Just this past week, a dear friend that I work with gave us a precious book: Prayers and Promises for My Little Boy by Stormie Omartian. We wanted to share the first one with you today:

Prayer of Gratitude for Nelson {Our Little Boy}

Lord, THANK YOU for Nelson. He is such a wonderful gift to us. Help us to raise him well. May the beauty of Your Spirit be so evident in us that we will be godly role models for him. Give us the communication, teaching, and nurturing skills that we must have. Grow us into being the kind of parents You want us to be and teach us how to pray and truly intercede for his life.

We are grateful that we don't have to rely on the world's unreliable and ever-changing methods of child rearing, but that we can have clear directions from Your Word and wisdom as we pray to You for guidance. We rely on You for everything, and this day we trust our child to You and release him into Your hands. 

In Jesus' name we ask that You will increase our faith for all the things You have put on our heart to pray for concerning our son. 

Thank you for your continued prayers for our growing family during this special time. Words cannot express how much it means to know we are being lifted up! And below are a few more updated photos for you to take a "sneak peek" into our baby boy's nursery...!!! Can't wait to have him here...soon and very soon! 

Weekend Fun

Thank you for your patience with this blog post! We used to post each Wednesday, then that turned into Thursday, then Friday...and now apparently MONDAY! We've actually been without internet at our apartment for awhile so it's made it a bit tricky to find a time to make our post for the week. Turned out well, since we wanted to share with you some photos of the fun weekend we had.

Something you hear a LOT of as you turn the corner of the homestretch in pregnancy is..."enjoy your time together"..."go to the movies"..."go out to eat, just the two of you"..."sleep in"..."run to the grocery store"...! In other words, it gets a lot more "involved" when you have a little one with you...to even do the more basic things in life! So here are a few pics of how we have been enjoying our time, as the two of us! 

Friday night, we ate dinner at a (new to us) local Mexican spot,
"El Barrio" in Downtown Birmingham!

Saturday we enjoyed a day at "Farmlinks" in Sylacauga, AL.

Sweet day with friends! The guys had a great time golfing!!

On Sunday, there was quite a downpour out at the baseball field during B's game!
Needless to say, there was no shelter to hide under during the monsoon.
But the rain felt GOOD to this pregnant mama!

With this heat, there are a lot of "outfit changes" throughout the day.
When I got home from the baseball game, I made a quick change into a different dress
AND got my "do-rags" out of the freezer. 
They have been quite the life-saver these days with all the humidity!

Sunday evening concluded with watching "Sleepless In Seattle"!
Couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Thankful for the wonderful QUALITY TIME!

By Faith

There is a song written by Keith and Kristyn Getty called, "By Faith". We sang this last week at church and it's been in my head ever since. It's a sweet anthem to have in my head as we enter these next four (+) weeks of the pregnancy journey. To say there's a lot going through my mind at any given time is an understatement! B and I are thoroughly enjoying each and every moment we have yet looking forward to our son's arrival with great anticipation. It sure has been encouraging when we come across the "positive and joyful" parents who remind us what a blessing having children is...and not just talk to the ones who tell us how we're never going to sleep again and so forth. I know there is reality to both - but we know that the LORD is our strength and has gone before and behind us each step our lives thus far and will not leave us now.

We keep talking about how interesting it is that one of the biggest days of our lives cannot be planned for. When we got married, we knew that "September 13th" was the big day! With Nelson's arrival, we don't know if it will be the end of July, beginning of August, morning, noon, or night. It's certainly a reminder to let go of control and ask God to increase our FAITH, be the ONE we put our total TRUST in, and lead the way!!! This sums up many conversations we have had this past week and we'd like to come before you today on July 6, one month from our baby boy's "due date" and ask you to stand in prayer with us. Pray specifically for the LORD to strengthen our minds and be our GUIDE no matter what this next month and beyond holds! Whenever people ask when Nelson is going to be born, we love telling people..."on his birthday"...!!! It's true! We just don't know which day that will be! What an adventure life is! Thankful to be on this grand adventure with the LORD as our guide, and with my husband who loves the LORD and seeks His guidance - above all - for our family...an answer to sooooooo many of my prayers!!!

Here is a link to listen to the song we love, "By Faith". May it bless your heart as it has ours! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-YISm700Pc ...And here are the words if you'd like to simply read the lyrics:

By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation's grand design
In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness
Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the power of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God's own hand
A place where peace and justice reign

We will stand as children of the promise
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward
Till the race is finished and the work is done
We'll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day
When the longed-for Messiah would appear
With the power to break the chains of sin and death
And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go
In the power of the Spirit to the lost
To deliver captives and to preach good news
In every corner of the earth

We will stand...

By faith this mountain shall be moved
And the power of the gospel shall prevail
For we know in Christ all things are possible
For all who call upon His name