So there's several things that have been on my mind lately... Karis is well on her way, Sarah and I just returned from North and South Carolina from our seminary trip, Christmas is coming and that means that plans for the Living Nativity are in full swing and that I am finishing plans on decorating the outside of my parents' house this year, and Sarah and I are looking at a move coming up in April. All of this is very consuming. I don't know how to feel or what to do right now. I am both excited and anxious about my first born daughter that is going to be here in a couple of months, I am excited and a little overwhelmed at the thought of the huge construction project that is known as the Living Nativity, and I am really excited about decorating my parents place for Christmas. Throw in a couple of weekend construction projects (additions to houses) that I have going on and it's no wonder why I'm so busy.
Through it all, I have my ways of relaxing. I started building a rocking horse for Karis back in September; I'd like to say that it is done (of course it's not), but all of the major assembly is completed. Now all it needs is some paint and finishing touches and it will be gorgeous. I am also planning a weekday (woohoo time off of work) fishing trip with my brother and father where we can go out and bond like "manly men". Most importantly I have my relationship with my Heavenly Father that helps keep me going.
I have discovered several things about myself in these last few months: I can get through life's challenges easily when I rely on Christ who strengthens me, I get frustrated when things don't go according to plans, I hate it when I feel like I've let those that I love down, and I love my wife more than anything else this side of heaven (ok so I knew that already). All in all I have to remind myself that God is not done with me yet. I look forward to the day when He is!!!
I like to think of myself as a handy-man... I mean I know my way around a woodshop, garage, and just about any aisle in Home Depot, so I decided that I wanted to build a rocking horse for Karis. I figured that I would spend a majority of my Labor Day relaxing by building the rocking horse of all rocking horses from scratch (that's right... no kit for me). Things went smoothly from the beginning. Dad and I went to Home Depot where I bought a piece of 2"X12"X12' whitewood lumber that I was going to spend the next few hours crafting. Since I didn't use any plans, everything I knew things were going to be a little bit of trial and error. I did some research and looked at other rocking horses and decided what I liked and dis-liked and came up with one amazing looking rocking horse on paper. I began sawing and sanding and sawing some more. In my plans I decided that I would build a 2-piece body that would sandwhich the neck of the horse to hold it in place. This required a tricky cut that I've done many times before. while performing this cut, my table saw acted up and spit the piece of wood back out at me, hitting me in my mouth and knocking me to the ground. The only thing I remember was turning off my table saw afterwards. I apparently went inside and cleaned up my lacerations to my lips and went back outside to do some more work (hey a project is a project). I then realized that my mouth was real watery and that my lips were real red. This time I went back inside and told my mother (Sarah was out visiting the Seale's and I was working in my dad's "shop") that I hurt myself and asked if she could see if my tooth went through my lip. So here I am.. no stitches, all of my teeth, some pretty wicked cuts, and and horrible migraine, but I have what looks like a horse that is ready to be mounted on rockers, sanded, stained, and decorated. That will be a wonderful memory (and hopefully a nice gift for my daughter). I'll put some pictures up later.
So... it has been one whole year (plus a few days) since Sarah and I entered into the Holy Covenant of marriage. This first year has been great. I have learned so much about how to be a better man, Christian, and leader. Sarah and I spent some time reviewing our first year of marriage, and we both agreed that we love each other more now than we did when we first married. It would be the understatement of the century to say that this first year has brought changes, growth, and surprises! I am so happy to have Sarah as my wife, and I am confident that she would say the same.
On the note of surprises..... I'M GONNA BE A DADDY!!!!!!!! If you can't tell, I'm very excited. With that excitement comes a whole buffet line of thoughts and emotions. Concern... how am I going to care for, provide for, and sustain this little life that God has trusted me with? Self-doubt... what if I make a horrible mistake that hurts my child? Self-doubt... Could I possibly be a good father? Fear... I'm gonna be a dad in 167 days!?!?!?!??!!!!?!?!?!!!! Pride... I'M gonna be a dad in 167 days! Awe... isn't God awesome with how He creates life! Awe... Sarah is so strong and is so incredible at going through this pregnancy thing. Joy... that's the heartbeat of my child that we just heard. Re-assurance... God is on His throne and knows exactly what He is doing.
And that is where I am going to rest. Knowing that God is on His throne and that He is in control of all things. We serve a good God that only wants the best for His children (and His children's children) and He cannot and will not do anything that is not good. I cannot wait to see the face of my child; to hold that precious little life in my arms will be priceless.
Well, many of you do not know yet that I am preggo. Yup, I'm gonna have a baby. I'm just over 10 weeks along and physically speaking, feeling quite miserable... clinging to the hope of it subsiding once I reach that 12-week mark. We are very excited about the thought of an addition to our fairly new family. Neither of us have a preference of boy or girl, we too have the standard answer of "As long as the baby's healthy, we don't care if it's a boy or girl."
I had been feeling a little strange for a few weeks, and the thought crossed my mind that I could be pregnant, but didn't think that could be the only explanation of how I felt. After several days of the symptoms not getting any better, I decided to take a pregnancy test. Sure enough, it confirmed my suspicions. This was a Sunday night (May 4th, to be exact) and Jonny's birthday was coming up that Wednesday, so I decided to keep my little secret to myself. I wrapped up the pregnancy test in a small little box and tied it up with a big bow. It was the last present I gave him on his birthday. Of course, he was shocked and excited. I mailed the same thing to my mom, and we also wrapped one up for Jonny's mom, in order for them to open them up on Mother's Day. For many reasons, we had decided that I would stop taking birth control (mainly for my health) many months ago, and that we would just trust God with the timing of family. Well, here we are! Surprise, surprise.
Right now, we're just awaiting the end of the first trimester to be certain everything is okay, and then we'll spread the news like wildfire.
Well, shamefully, we have not even posted anything in this blog for nearly 7 months now. I have a tendancy to keep up with my other blog, and Jonny generally doesn't even do the blogging thing at all. So, the blame is soley mine!
We're past our first Christmas now, and just two days away from our first Valentine's Day. I will be certain to post some pictures from our time over Christmas and our 'home'. We are definitely enjoying our place! We are spoiled to literally be right on a lake, with all kinds of beautiful scenes right outside of every window! We went for a walk on Sunday and just took in the gorgeous day. I personally enjoy these "winters" that we have down here (if you can call it that!).