Hello friends!

Long time no see. I've just not had much to write. All tho life is full and rich! And to God be the glory for all of it!! So I'll update you on my precious boy...

He is 8 months old. He crawls backwards but not forward. He rolls around and can sit up on his own. He pulls up to his knees but not standing all the way (but soon! EEK) He blows kisses, smiles and laughs in glee. He has two bottom toofies an has the most amazing blue eyes and is FINALLY getting some hair! He loves to snuggle when he's tired. And is a fabulous eater! To the point where I turned his nose orange from all the orange veggies I was feeding him! LOL...He is an amazing little boy and I am abundantly blessed!

Its still so hard to believe at times that this little boy is MINE. That he is my son that I wake up to every morning babbling in his crib. I'm so grateful!! I think back to the journey, what lead us to Sam, all the years of pain, hope and tears. And here we are!! And its passing so quickly, he is growing and changing every day. And my heart is so full it could just burst!! Thank you Lord for this gift!!

Work is great, very busy but I'm enjoying it. Matt is still living with Apple poor guy. But he maintains his job for the sake of us. I'm grateful. Our exciting news is that I am gonna be an auntie for the first time on my side. My bro and SIL are pregnant and due in April! Sam is gonna have a precious cousin. We are very excited!

Oh this journey. This life's walk that we are on!! It is so twisty and turny, ups and downs. I still wonder why I was blessed and so many others have not been yet. My heart still breaks for those I love who are struggling for littles of their own. I know I did nothing to deserve this little boy and God blessed us anyway. Its like our Salvation. I did ABSOLUTELY nothing to deserve my salvation, yet God blessed us anyway. What an amazing giving God we serve! To so generously give me my son, and His. I've been sitting in wonder of that lately. And so humbled and grateful as well.

My heavenly Father. Thank you for these precious gifts in my life! For a husband who loves me abundantly and unconditionally, for a home that protects me from life's storms, those silly fur babies that drive me nuts, a secure job that I enjoy, my miracle son that I get to hold and love on every day, and most importantly, for your Son and the salvation we have received because of Him. I'm so grateful and thankful....

I know many who read this are still waiting on their miracles. And please know that my heart has not forgotten, I KNOW where you are at, how you are feeling and hurting. I think today I just wanted to make a point of reminding us all to be THANKFUL for the blessings in our lives. Our precious spouses, homes, jobs. And my prayer is that I will be rejoicing with you soon on your own miracles.

No rhyme or reason today! Just random thoughts. Thank you to those of you who still come by to see if I've written. I see there have been tons of hits!! I'm honored!! Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Rainbow Babies...

I'm stealing this from a girl (Laura) on Hannah's Prayer. She had posted it about our miracle babies, and this is just the perfect words for this journey...

Short and sweet! Have a blessed day in the Lord!

RAINBOW BABIES

"Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope."

Promise...

I've not gone missing!! Life has been CRAZY! New job, new routine. I just can not keep up!! this working mom stuff is HARD! But I'm so in love!

I have a couple of started posts that I'll need to go back and finish...

For those who have checked on me, THANK YOU! It is appreciated! We are not gone, only detoured and running a bit on empty! :-)

However, before I go, I must say that I am the proud mommy of a SIX MONTH OLD today! I can't believe how the time has flown! He is sitting up, rolling forward and backward, eating all kinds of fruits and veggies, smiling, laughing, and just overall being the light of our lives! I'm abundantly blessed that I am so busy with MY SON! God is good!!!

So this quick post will be left with a video...Mr. Sam Chit Chattin'.
Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Samuel's Dedication...

Oh my, we have a son that we are dedicating to the Lord!! Oh Lord I never thought it possible, I had given up hope that this day would come! Yet we prepared today to return this precious child to you, and promise to raise him in Your name! Thank you Lord for this miracle boy!

The service was amazing. And appropriate as Pastor Tom spoke Honor and preached out of 1st and 2nd Samuel. What an honor! What another God thing! As this day had been postponed twice only to end up having dedication on the very weekend Pastor spoke on Samuel. You can actually watch the sermon here: Honoring What God Honors .

So our church does a beautiful thing for the dedicated children. They gave us a letter, a letter that we will give our son when he accepts Jesus into his heart. It tells of how his mommy and daddy brought him to the church to be dedicated before the people, promising to raise him in the Lord, and how he is a child of God. That he was loved before he could even understand the word, and that his church family lifted him up in prayer, rejoicing in the gift God had given to this world. How awesome is that? Plus he got his first bible. It was just amazing! I'm so humbled by the gift that God has given us!!!

We then celebrated at mom and dad's house. Had family over and a food and fellowship, celebrating this little boy. God is so good! Thank you for this gift dear Lord!!! Here are some photos. Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Quiet Sunday Morning

I'm listening to both my guys snore. Its just lovely. No really, it is. :-) To hear the two guys in my life that I'm just utterly in love with. I'm beyond blessed! Its amazing to sit back and see the wonderful things God has given me! I wish I had words of gratitude for all I have been blessed with.

No real point to this post today. Just sittin' back and babbling away. We had a wonderful July 4th service at church yesterday. Our pastor was on fire for restoration in our country. I'm in complete agreement! Totally ready for our nation to return to the ways of the Lord. To bring Christ back to the heart of our country. Regardless, I'm so grateful to live in a free nation. And so thankful for those men/women who have fought for that freedom, continue to FIGHT for my freedom. I'm so thankful! Grateful I can blab on an open blog about My God and all He has done for me!! Thank you Lord for freedom!

Sammy is gettin' big. His 4 month check he was at 16 lb 7 oz and 25in long. He's got a big ol' head and the MD says he's just gonna be a big boy. That could go without saying!! Look at the height/weight of those he comes from!! Football player maybe? Ha! What a blessing this little boy is. I just have to pinch myself every day, truly remembering he is MINE. All mine! Thank you Jesus for him! What an amazing testament to the power of our Lord! My own little miracle. Ok not so little anymore. :-) Look how far we've come!

Crazy...Again no real rhyme or reason to my posting today. Just feel like thanking Jesus for all the gifts in my life. My husband, my son, my freedom, my family...Most importantly, MY SALVATION, because w/o that, nothing else matters! Thank you Lord for this journey you have taken me on! I can't wait to see what else is in store!

Happy Birthday America! May everyone have a fabulous 4th of July! Have a blessed day in the Lord!

What a special day!

Today marks one year that my son was created. Isn't that crazy that I know the date that my son was created?? Its funny to have a picture of a time that is normally hidden. Creation that is done in the silence of one's body. Something that only just recently advanced science has been able to witness. The creation of LIFE.

1 year ago today I was wheeled into an operating room where the weeks of hormones, shots, ultrasounds and bloodwork presented itself in the form of 10 eggs being removed from my ovaries. (its not a fun place, lemme tell ya) And then those eggs were mixed with Matt's guys (tee hee) and my little babies were formed! How AWESOME is that?? Life was created...MY CHILD'S LIFE.

Even tho its all so "medical". The intervention was not that of a marriage union, but one of needles and medicine, it still brought me this precious son I have in my arms! But to think, even with all this technology, science has yet to perfectly re-create pregnancy 100% of the time. If they could, there would be no IF, no broken hearts yearning for a child. Still in all this modern technology, God's masterful hand has to be in it. HE still has to breathe life into this creation. And I'm so very thankful that He did! Because I have my precious son!

So today I celebrate the creation of my child's life! ( and his 6 frozen embryo siblings) I'm so thankful that the beginning of this journey started today, 1 year ago. The journey to my son. Thank you so much Lord for this precious child of mine!!!

Have a blessed day in the LORD!

This is Sammy as a 5 day Blastocyte













And THAT turned into THIS. God's amazing CREATION!!!

Busy busy busy!

I'm such a bad blogger! I'm so sorry my faithful readers. :-) But can you tell work started? Cuz I have NO TIME TO WRITE NOW!! LOL...I'm adjusting to being a working mom, but I'm grateful to have the means to care for my family!

First off, NEW JOB! God is so good. I'm working at Palms West Hospital again!!! I feel like I've come home. I LOVE working at the hospital!! Its such a joy! Hands on with the patients, AND I get pediatrics and adults. I'm working in ASU aka Ambulatory Surgery Unit. Basically we are the Pre-op department that you start in just prior to going into surgery. Its fast paced and wonderful ladies work there, and I'm enjoying it. Not to mention the fact that I only work 2-3 days a week and get to spend 4-5 days with Sammy! Its perfect! God is so good for bringing this job into our life!!!

Sammy is getting BIG! I don't know how much he weighs b/c he hasn't seen the Pedi, but I'd say a good 15lbs! He is developing such a personality and temper! He is starting to reach for stuff and LOVES to try and sit up and stand! I put together an exersaucer for him yesterday and he is almost tall enough for it, about 1/2 in too short! But I'm thinking it will be fabulous for him. He is relatively sleeping through the night, about 10-10.5 hrs a night? Trying to get on a napping schedule, but I'll be happy with sleeping through the night!! Oh and he is so full of personality, smiles and giggles. He loves to have conversations with anyone who will listen. He is such a joy! I'm in love with this little boy.

Mother's Day this year was so different then what we've had for the last 7 years. I spent it in Miami with my parents, aunties/uncle, cousins and of course my SON. MY SON, wow, those words are still so surreal to me. I'm a mom!! I have a precious little boy of my own!! Its so crazy to think about! And I'm truly grateful for this little boy in my life! What a precious blessing he is!

I enjoyed being able to celebrate MY mom, because she has stood by me for all these years, giving me the space I need, not forcing me to celebrate a heartbreaking day, being the generous loving mom that she is. Giving up her day for my peace. So to be able to celebrate this year, not just me now being a mom, but finally celebrating together MY mom, it was a blessing. I'm so blessed to have her in my life! She is just the most understanding, kindest, gentlest, most loving person in the world!!! And lucky me, I GET HER FOR A MOMMY!! I'm so lucky! I love her with every breath I breathe! Thank you Lord for this precious lady in my life! My son is blessed to have her for a Nana.

Well , its not much of an update, but I wanted to show that I am still here! Nothing real profound to say, but grateful for the oppurtunity to say it! ;-) Have a blessed day in the Lord!!!