Karis' Scooter

Two Saturdays ago, Karis and I participated in the Walk for Life for our Crisis Pregnancy Center here in Wilson. We raised money and walked 2 miles, actually Karis only walked a little but she got to help raise money. I asked her why we were walking, and she said, "to raise money to help people like Mommy." I tried to explain to her what a crisis pregnancy center was. I told her that some women don't want their babies, and she responded with, "Why wouldn't she want brother?" It was very sweet and innocent to hear how she understood what I was trying to explain to her.
When you participate in the walk they have drawings for different prizes. Karis won a $25 gift card to Target. Justin and I took her to Target the next Monday and let her pick out a toy. She has never done this before and of course she picked out the first toy she saw, which was a toy for 6 months plus. She then decided she wanted a Dora scooter instead of a bike with training wheels.

Her first ride with Daddy helping. She got a little frustrated at first.

She got much better as the day went on. In fact, now she can ride it by herself and turn as much as she wants. It is fun watching her. What a big girl she is!

Baby Update: 32 weeks

My check up went great today. The doctor said everything looks great and said that after I come back in three weeks it will be getting very close to time! Believe me, I know that!

Blood pressure: 112/59

Weight: gained 4 pounds, 23 total

I don't remember his heartbeat, I am not sure if the nurse told me or just wrote it down.

Thanks for all your prayers and please continue to pray for me as I am becoming a little nervous about another C-section. God is in control but having time to really understand what they are going to do makes me a little nervous.

Fun Surprise!

Two weeks ago, Justin, Karis and I painted the baby room. I went to the YMCA to work out before we started and when I got home, Karis and Justin had painted me a message on the wall. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful, loving husband. As you can see, Karis left her mark on the wall, saying she was writing her name! Pictures of the baby room will be coming soon, I am still in the process of washing and getting things organized.

Our Painter!

Karis has recently been asking me everyday to paint. She has just really started enjoying it, especially when she uses her easel, like a real painter. She also gets excited about wearing her painter's shirt (one of daddy's old shirts).


After she dips her paint brush in the cup, she likes to mix all the paints together before she paints on the paper. She looks like she is really concentrating in this picture, look how precise her hand placement is. She cracks me up all the time, she is really growing up!



Karis thinks that saying cheese means pursing her lips like that. Every time we take her picture she wants to look at it!! You can't see her painting creation, but I a sure that it was great!

Thanks Aunt Courtney for the easel!

Visit from the Tombrella's

Last week, my dear friend Michelle and her two boys came to visit us. They are currently living in Maryland where Rob is going through the Pastors College for Sovereign Grace. We were so excited that they would be only about five hours away from us if only for 10 months. Michelle and Rob are our closest and dearest friends from college. We have grown together in the last nine years, and we are blessed to have them so close to us, in spirit and distance. Justin was very busy last week so it was nice to have Michelle here to hang out with. They arrived on Tuesday and left on Friday morning. Here are a few pictures of our fun together.

Michelle, Samuel, and Karis enjoyed drawing on the driveway.

Samuel, Karis, and Joel playing on the sidewalk too.

On Wednesday night, we let the kids watch the movie ROBOTS after they took a bath. As you can see, they are all very captivated by it. I thought it was pretty cute, I hadn't seen it before.

Thursday the weather was so nice. We took them to the park. Karis thought swinging on her belly was so fun!

Samuel and Joel look like they are in prison! Sam wouldn't let go of the basketball for anything.

It was a great time for Michelle and I to be able to talk and see how much God has done in each of our lives in the last few years. I am thankful that even though we have lived many miles apart for the last four years that God always allows us the opportunity to see each other at least once a year, sometimes twice. I have seen God mold and shape Michelle into a godly wife, who loves and adores her husband, a mother, who is diligently teaching her children the gospel with by her love and discipline for them, and a friend, who goes above and beyond to walk beside me as we grow in grace together. Thank you for all you are to me and for being the woman God has called you to be. I love you and can't wait for you guys to come back at Thanksgiving. Who better to have here to celebrate Thanksgiving than you guys!

Happy 8 Year Anniversary!

Today is our eight year anniversary. I was remembering this morning all that God has done in our lives in these last eight years. We graduated college, moved to Ft. Worth for seminary for two years while I taught and coached (we moved twice there), moved to Beaumont for Justin to be a youth minister (we moved twice again) and Karis was born, moved to North Carolina to be the pastor of a church plant (we have moved twice since being here also). I see a very distinct pattern here. Hopefully our house moving is in the past for a while now!
God has been so good to us. I look back on the past eight years and cannot imagine life without Justin. It seems like just yesterday that we standing in front of God, our family, and friends and pledging our love and life to each other with Christ's help. The Lord has changed both of us so much since that day. He has continued to mold us into His image by His grace. Justin, I am so honored and blessed to married to a man who loves Christ most of all, who desires to see his wife and children grow in Christ and leads us with great joy and by example, who loves me beyond what I deserve, who can make me laugh, who holds me when I cry, who humbly gives me wisdom, who is such an amazing Father, and who leads our church in the power that Christ supplies. Thank you for all you do for me. I love you today more than ever. I cannot wait to see what the next eight years have in store for us.
My cry will continue to be, "Glorify the Lord with me, let us exalt His name together."
Psalm 34:3

Baby Update: 29 weeks

Karis and I went to the doctor today for my check up. She was very good and enjoyed hearing her brother's heart beat and weighing herself like Mommy. Everything is looking good. I go back in three weeks.

Heartbeat-140

Weight gain-5 lbs, total 19 (it seems to be increasing a lot!)

Blood Pressure- 109/60

Thank you for all your prayers about this little boy. I can't believe I only have 10 weeks from today left until I meet our precious son, unless the Lord has other plans and he comes sooner.