1 Samuel 1:27

When I was a little girl, I would play "house" with all of my girlfriends, and we would all fight over who got to be the "Mama". From as far back as I can remember, I've wanted to be just that....a mother. As I've gotten older, my desire has only grown. I just love everything about children; from their sweet chubby fingers and toes as infants, to the precious way they have of making everyone around them smile as they grow into their own personalities. They are such a light to this world, and I have always dreamed of having one of my own.

Chris & I started talking about having kids right after we got married. Well, let me clarify...I talked, Chris listened :) In his defense, just like every good husband, he wanted to make sure that he could take care of me (a BIG job, let me just say!) before he could even think about bringing another life into this world. Eventually, we got to a point where we felt comfortable and ready to start talking about it seriously.

Well, it didn't happen immediately. In fact, being the drama queen that I am, I thought that it might not happen at all. I saw doctors, had tests run, became frustrated...okay, okay, I got a little obsessed. I thought that this was supposed to be easy. I mean, everyone else seemed to be having babies easily. (Hello post-deployment baby-boom!!) I was so excited for all of my friends, but at the same time, my heart was hurting. That's a horrible thing to admit, but it is my truth. Finally, my Dr. prescribed some medication. The first type didn't have any effect at all, and the 2nd brought with it some VERY not fun side-effects. It was at this point that I gave it all to God. I literally got on my knees and asked Him to take the hurt, frustration, stress, and doubt away from me, and to replace it with fruitfulness of my spirit. If a child was not in the cards for us right then, or ever, I asked that He let my heart be okay with that. It was hard to lay that desire down at His feet, especially for this sometimes overly-controlling girl. But I also prayed that He not let me pick that burden up again...and He didn't.

"Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."' Matthew 11:28

At the first of January I had what I thought was a stomach bug. I missed a New Year's Eve party b/c of it, and I was honestly a little annoyed! On a whim, I took a test...you know the one. And can you guess how this story turns out?? It was positive! Tears of joy flooded down my face. I can't even describe what I felt that day, I don't think that my emotions can be put into words. I immediately (yet, sneakily) told Chris, who was equally as excited and overwhelmed with joy! We then set up a web-cam call w/ all 4 sets of our parents to share our news. We wanted to see their faces, and I must say, it was absolutely priceless!

Needless to say, our year has started out on a wonderfully happy note. We are expecting a little one on September 5th, and we are so thankful to have been given this amazing blessing!! Praise God, He is so good!!

"For this child, I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him."

1 Samuel 1:27