Baby #3: 16 Week Update

I have been abundantly blessed with this third pregnancy! My doctor this time is sweet, loving gracious, kind, and absolutely precious! When she walked in to see Blane and I laying together on the exam table, she exclaimed, "You two are too cute, we need a picture!" A waiting room full of people and she has the time to ask if she can take my picture!

I was so excited to bring Blane with me to hear the miracle of a new heart beating in my tummy. He enjoyed laying next to me on the table and watching them rub the wand across my belly - and he thought the swoosh, swoosh, swoosh sound was cool. I am so thankful for the uneventful appointments where I can walk away knowing that my baby is safe and healthy.

This month has been exciting because I've started to feel little flutters of movement! It is so exciting and reassuring to experience little life moving inside my belly! New to me this pregnancy is a craving for spicy food - the spicier the better! My pizza can't have enough red pepper flakes on it! I've also found spice to be a great way to not have to share food : )

I've more wholeheartedly embraced being pregnant this third time, and I'm finding more joy in the little things than I did in the past. Although we've been walking through a tough trial the past year or so, our fellowship with Jesus is richer, and it makes life sweeter as well : )

God has really pursued my heart in new ways over the past couple of months. I am receiving so many good natured comments, "I bet this one's a girl!", "Are you hoping this one's a girl?", "I bet you're wanting a girl if this is your last baby?!", "I just know that this one's a girl!", "This is the year of the girl!". God is using these comments to reveal sin in my heart in mighty ways! God knows the secrets in my heart (Ps 44:21) and truth be told, I do in fact long for a little girl. I want to see a little girl that looks like me. And there are days where I am easily tempted to believe that I deserve a girl, and that God is doing me an injustice if He chooses to withhold that from me. That is the secret of my heart that God knows all about. I wrestled through this long ago, when Jesus reminded me that he withholds no good thing from me (Ps 84:11). He is always working for my good (Rom 8: 28). His good for me might not always look the way I think it should, but it is still the better thing for me. I believe and trust in that Truth. Each comment causes me to revisit and struggle through my sin and continue to fight for Truth in my own heart - and that's a really good thing! Even more than I love the idea of a little girl joining our family, I love to remember that the little baby boy or little baby girl that God is hard at work on is His absolute best for me! I deserve nothing, yet God has so graciously and abundantly provided for me even above and beyond the Cross a wonderful and loving husband, two sweet and healthy boys, and provisions for us that words can't describe.