Exciting News & Life Updates!

That's right! We are expecting, again! :) :) :) Kierra and her little sibling will be 23 months apart. Just to inform you, after Kierra was born we said she would be our only child. However, after seeing Kierra interact with other babies and kids even at a very young age, we knew she had to have a sibling and we wanted them about 2 years apart. Perfect timing, right? Kierra has such a sweet personality. She is a wonderful perfect loving little girl and a joy to everyone around her. She is very independent. She can sit and play with her toys for hours all by herself. My mom told me that's exactly how I was as a child! I hear Tyler was a pretty good baby too. We are blessed to have such an amazing little girl, that's for sure! Our 2nd one better be just as good. ;) Anyway, we know that she will be an amazing big sister. We can't wait for our little one to get here! I forgot to mention we aren't going to find out the baby's sex this time! It's going to be a SURPRISE!! Yes, me who does not like surprises at all. The sex of my baby is going to be a big surprise. I am scared, but know it will be so exciting. I can't plan ahead like I did with Kierra, but I know it will be worth it when the little baby comes out and we find out then :) I'm so looking forward to it! All the decorating and buying gender specific clothes will come later. Since the baby will be in our room for a while, I'm not too concerned about the room! We will have plenty of time to get it together. Oh, I am 16 weeks preggers and feel like I'm 40 weeks. I had NO clue how different pregnancies could be. Wowsers. Maybe I'll save the differences for another post all by itself. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but being a mother is one of the greatest joys i have ever experienced! God chose me to be a mother to Kierra (and baby #2) and that is one of biggest blessings ever in my life besides allowing me to be a wife to Tyler! :)

Everything is going great! We moved into a home in Martinsville (no comment) last month. I have to say I liked living in Greenwood much better, but am very thankful to have a home where the kids will be able to play in the backyard and call it their home, instead of an apartment. There isn't much to do here. No malls 5 minutes down the road. Lame story times at the library. Sirens that blast by our house every 3 minutes..morning, noon, and night. Yeah, our house faces the main street in Martinsville, so it's pretty crazy. If we want to get out and do anything we have to head north or south. We do have a park a few blocks away, so that's a good thing! :) It's taking a while to get used to...that is for SURE! We are definitely further away from our church, which is kinda a bummer. I loved being a 2 minute walk away from church. If you didn't know, we attend Emmanuel Church of Greenwood! You should definitely check it out sometime! Our senior pastor is Danny Anderson. He is a amazing christian and challenges us every single week to be a better follower of Christ. He is a true example of how a christian should be. What you see is what you get and I really appreciate that. Admitting when you sin is never easy, admitting it to over 2500 people has to be extremely difficult. But, Danny admits his sins to everyone and how to wipe that sin away and not do it again, which is what the bible says we should do, confess our sins to one another. No one is perfect, we are all sinners, so that is a very important step to becoming more Christ like. When is the last time you told someone you are a sinner? Very hard to do, right? Danny had us verbally say last week, "My name is _____ and I am a sinner." Who wants to say that out loud? It was an eye opener, that's for sure! Just like every week!

Speaking of church, God has really dealt with us (my hubby and I- which I think he needs to start a blog!) and made us look deeper at our relationship with Him this past year (2011). When we are far from our Father He has a way to get us on the path he wants us to be. God uses our trials to grow our faith, that's for sure! 2010 was a rocky year, but God had a plan for us that we didn't understand at the time. I wouldn't trade it for anything now though, along with all my other trials throughout my life! Going through a rough time is never fun, but there is always a reason for it! And we must give God all the glory for what He does for us. I realize I don't get him enough praise for everything He has done, and I am working on that! I am so happy that I am now living my life for Him and not others! For so long, I put other first without realizing how wrong I was. I would go days, weeks, months, and not even consider my relationship with God. Even though I claimed I lived for Him, I was so far away it was scary! It's funny how people aren't concerned when they should be, and are too concerned when they shouldn't be! God has to be #1 in our lives. We must be God-centered, not self-centered. Nothing else matters but believing in Christ. 1 John 3:23. It's one of the greatest commandments! I'm just so thankful for everything God has done for me and my family. Just a side note: I'm thankful that every service I want to get up out of bed and get ready and am excited about it! That is a big change for me, and I have to admit I love it! I've been through a lot and God deserves all the glory, because without Him, I know I wouldn't be here today! Remember- God has a reason for EVERYTHING! Not our will..but God's will be done in all of our lives!

Until next time,


Prego!

P.S. Here are a couple of pics from Kiki's 1 year photos! She will be 18 months on the 14th. Can't believe it!!