Baby (diaper) Shower for Gavin

This Saturday we had a wonderful diaper shower for Baby Gavin, thrown by my mother-in-law. We got lots of diapers, particularly size 1 (I am pretty sure I literally will not need to buy ANY size 1's!), and we literally will not have to buy wipes ever again until our NEXT child. Seriously. I can honestly and confidently say that! Even with my almost two year old, Mason, still being in diapers, we will have enough wipes to last until he is potty trained AND to last until Gavin is potty trained. It was such a good feeling having a hard time finding a place to put it all when we got home!

I ended up organizing the diapers fairly well, but had to put two huge boxes of wipe refills in the attic to use whenever the time comes. (Yes, we still had more boxes of wipes that I did find a place for in their room/closet!) I finally feel like everything is ready for Gavin and not much else needs to be done!

I am 33 weeks and 1 day and at my doctor appointment last Thursday (32 weeks and 4 days), I was still dilated to a 2, but was now 70% effaced (the last appointment I was 50% effaced). I am so thankful that they decided to give me the steroid shots at 30 1/2 weeks. Now at least I can rest easily knowing that if he comes a little bit earlier than Mason did (Mason came at 36 weeks 5 days), that it all should be okay and he should not need to go to the NICU. That is such a relieving feeling!

I go again to the doctor on Friday, December 20th, and I will then be 34 weeks and 5 days. I have a feeling that will be my last doctor appointment or second to last one before delivering. (My next appointment would be the next week, as I would be moving to weekly appointments, and it would be the day or two days after Christmas!)

I am excited for Gavin to be here, but do want him to stay in until at least 35 weeks! We will see what he decides to do though :)

Here are some pictures from our shower!

Cupcakes from a wonderful little bakery... Maxie B's!

My sweet little Mason playing with the stick horse that was one of the decorations :)

My sweet husband and I

Diaper cake! (The shower was cowboy themed)

My sweet girl Savannah was running around downstairs playing with a friend of her's that was there throughout most of the shower, and I just realized there were no pictures of her!! :(

Here is a picture my husband captured two days before the shower of me with both of my sweet babies...

Savannah, Mommy, and Mason!

We all can't wait for Gavin to join the mix and the fun :)

Morning Scripture Reading

Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. (Proverbs 28:14 KJV)

While reading my Bible this morning (I am currently finishing up the book of Proverbs), I came across this verse. It spoke volumes to me. You may read it and think, "oh I don't have a hard heart", thinking it's meaning having a hardened heart towards God. However, in context, it is actually referring to hardening your heart against people or even certain people.

It spoke to me, because I have a tendency to get so annoyed with a particular person or a couple of people over time that I begin to just think badly of everything they do or say. I know this is not right and is letting the devil get in my thoughts and lead me down that negative path. I never would have considered myself as having my heart hardened toward them necessarily though; that is, until I came across this piece of Scripture.

I know that for these select people in my life, I am going to have to daily fight this battle and make a conscious effort to not let my mind think negatively towards them. I need to distance myself from them the majority of the time and when our paths do inevitably meet for select circumstances, I need to be as cordial and loving as ever. Matthew also has a specific piece of Scripture pertaining to this that my Mam-ma used to remind me of.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (Matthew 5:44-46 KJV)

She used to refer to it as, "loving the lovely" and "loving the unlovely". Anyone can love the lovely; that is easy. This doesn't just mean literally, the lovely. It means anyone who is like you or favorable to you or lovely to you. However, it is not so easy to love the unlovely or those who are unlovely to you. I have always struggled with this. 

While I can easily love the outcast at church or in school, back when I was in school, and I can easily befriend the person that seemingly has little to no friends, I have a hard time showing Christ's love to someone who I'm around a lot, just simply because of these traits about them that overwhelm me or annoy me. 

As I mentioned yesterday, I began my drive home with my family yesterday with a mindset to be different and to be like my Mam-ma was and would have wanted me to be, to be like Jesus. I know I am imperfect and flawed, but I also know that with His love and guidance, it is possible. So here we are on December 2nd, 2013, and I am making a commitment to love the unlovely people in my life, no matter how difficult it may be at times.

Heading back to resume "normal" life/December: the start of something new

We left my Papa's house this morning about 3 am to head back to North Carolina. It was very bittersweet for so many reasons... Although it is always nice to get back home and sleep in your own bed along with getting back to your normal routine, Texas is my home and that is where all my family is. I love being anywhere in Texas, but I especially love being there at my Mam-ma and Papa's house. No place feels more like home. Now with Mam-ma being gone also, I really am glad I can be there for Papa and help fill some of the loneliness that he is obviously feeling. Although he is doing very well all things considered, I still (understandably) watched him get pretty emotional several times throughout the week, particularly the last couple days before we left. I just hated leaving him and so wish I did not have to.

Here is a picture of Papa spoon feeding Mason (my sweet almost 2 year old (he'll be 2 in just 13 days)) some coffee... It was just so sweet.

When we left, he asked me when we would be back. I told him sometime after Baby Gavin was born (I'm 32 weeks today), we would be back for everyone to meet him. He said, "well you let me know as soon as you know when y'all are coming and I will have everything ready for y'all!" It just made me so sad and homesick for my home there already, and I hadn't even gotten in the car yet. I just love my Papa.

This trip was very weird without Mam-ma there, but I know she was in Heaven smiling down on us all. Zach and I were talking about just last night while lying in bed about how it's so different with her as opposed to anyone else in either one of our lives who has passed away before, because there really is no doubt in anyone's minds where she is. Every single one of us knows she's in Heaven and therefore it almost feels like she's not even gone, because we know we'll get to see her again. It doesn't make missing her any less prominent though. I miss her everyday.

Savannah (my sweet 4 1/2 year old) got to go to her cousin Ryleigh's birthday party yesterday. I am so glad they planned the party for while we were still in town! It was at Sweet & Sassy and all of the girls truly had a blast! Savannah just was on cloud 9 the entire time! It was so fun to watch her get pampered and dress up like a princess!

Here are some pictures from the party...

I just love my little girl! She is so much fun and is a huge blessing!

I know when we get back home, we will settle back into our routine just fine... My daughter will resume preschool tomorrow morning and my son will resume Mother's Day Out. I will resume housework and my husband will resume work. I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday that I am looking forward to as I am already currently dilated to a 2 and over 50% effaced with my baby being completely dropped. I am so very thankful for the time we had together away from the normal chaos of life though. I will miss the uninterrupted time we all had together while seemingly being in another world for the week.

Here is one last picture of my husband and daughter while we were out to breakfast with my Papa yesterday....

As Christians, we should be thankful every day, not just Thanksgiving or the month of November. That is something Brother Jim loudly pointed out at church Wednesday night. I for one and am going to make a conscious effort to be thankful for all of these blessings in my life and for The Lord who blessed me with them, most importantly. This is the kind of life my Mam-ma led and it's the kind of life we all should be striving to lead as well.

May December mark a new beginning for us all... A time to be renewed and find a newfound purpose!