Thankful and Anxious

"He will keep in perfect peace, he whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the Rock eternal." - Isaiah 26:3-4

In the midst of being so thankful for life and God choosing to give us another child in this season of our lives, it is so easy to worry. These last couple of weeks I've worried about too many things... What if baby comes early? What if it's actually twins and they've totally missed it? What if I can't handle the next 14 weeks?

Even as I am writing this I'm reminded that dwelling on those questions is choosing not to trust God. I am thankful that God is gracious. He has poured His grace on our family in so many ways.

This last week and a half have been insanely busy for our family because of the exciting start of the school year with Cru. God has done some neat things on campus, graciously brought us through it, given me strength for every day, and somehow our house is clean and we've all been fed regularly.

26 weeks

Favorite Current Parenting Book

God used this book to convict me and prick my heart so many times.

These next two are also favorites. I am so thankful that there are solid, gospel-centered parenting books out there. Let's just say, God brings children in to your life not just for joy and purpose, but for your own sanctification! Pete and I have been forced to pray and feel our great need for our Savior and his grace all over again. Praise the Lord that He uses our kids to show us our need again and again.

Number Three is on the Way

After a long hibernation, this blog is waking up. I've debated abandoning it several times, but after just spending several minutes perusing old posts, I've decided to keep it going, if for no other reason than for me to look back on it in the future.

Yep, Baby Three. He or She will be making an appearance around Thanksgiving 2013... the due date actually is on Thanksgiving Day: November 28th. And I hope he or she waits long enough to be born close to that time. I find myself slightly more anxious this pregnancy than before. I'm not really sure why, but I will save that for another post.

My most frequently asked question these days is one of gender. The answer is... its going to be a surprise this time! No, we don't have names picked out.

I am currently almost 25 weeks along and according to the doctor today, everything looks good.

The Past Eight Months in the Avery House

March : Panama City Beach for Spring Break with ISU Cru : Lucy's first look at the Ocean

March : Panama City Beach for Spring Break : Chilling at the pool

April : Lucy's 2nd Birthday Party : Ewing Park in Normal

April : Visiting Grandma and Grandpa's : Playing with Copper

May : Family Pictures in Bloomington-Normal

May : Family Pictures in Bloomington-Normal

June : Ocean City Summer Project with Cru : Adam starts solids : He doesn't like avacado

June : Ocean City Summer Project : Adam sits on his own for the first time : On the Ambassador's Inn Porch

June : OCSP : Lucy LOVES playing in the sand at the beach

July : Riding the Carousel on the Boardwalk : OCSP

July : Family Ferris Wheel Ride : OCSP

July : Independence Day : Lucy got to watch the fireworks over the beach from our back porch : still in OC

August : Back at Home in the Front Yard : Getting his first two teeth

August : Visiting the Farm that our milk comes from!

August : They both loved petting the sweet cows

September : Adam can stand now!

September : He loves playing with balls and crawling all around to chase them!

October : A Day at the park with Daddy

October : A Day at the Pumpkin Patch with Mommy

October : In a wagon at the Pumpkin Patch

Lucy's favorites: Pretending like she is a Mommy (rocking her babies, putting them down for naps, swaddling and feeding them), singing any and every song she hears,  and going down slides and climbing all over playground equipment.

Adam's favorites: Playing with balls, pulling up on all furniture, eating meat, race crawling down the hallway, and getting in to everything.


  The kids give me and Pete so much joy every day, and also vexation as we learn how to parent a two-year-old. We ask the Lord for wisdom all the time and thank Him for his wonderful grace!