I am home from an amazing week in El Salvador where the baby and I were showered with so much love. Both times I have been to El Salvador it's been such an awesome experience that any attempt to describe it does it a complete injustice. But I shall try. :) I was a little concerned about sharing the news with some of the kiddos and worried about their reaction. It breaks my heart to know that this precious child will have so many people to love on it and these children don't receive nearly as much love as any child deserves. However the children were happy for me and too cute about the whole thing. About halfway through the trip the baby got nicknamed little Amanda. In the mornings I'd get so many sweet rubs on my tummy with a "Buenos dias little Amanda," and at night "Buenas noches little Amanda." Throughout the 2 hour church service the beautiful little girl that I sponsor, Carolina, kept her hand on my belly a good portion of the service. I am so glad that I got to have this experience one more time before the baby comes. I have every intention of returning next summer. I can't even imagine how hard it will be to know that I'll have to leave my little one behind while I am gone but we are so blessed that I know it will be taken care of while I'm gone and surrounded by love while I get to love on other deserving children.
Tonight I talked to one of my friends that I hadn't gotten to talk to in quite some time and share the baby news with her. As we talked about the pregnancy and I mentioned that we'd been trying since October it hit me that if we had gotten pregnant right away then there would have been no way I could have gone to El Salvador this summer. I spent a lot of time frustrated and shed many tears for things not going the way that I had planned. But I was reminded again that God's timing is not my own. "For there is a time and a way for everything, although man's trouble lied heavy on him." Ecclesiastes 8:6 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1. I am thankful for a God that has a plan for me. If I had control of my own life I'd have a baby in the next few weeks and wouldn't have gotten to share this time with the kids of El Salvador.
If you feel called to do so anyone is able to sponsor a child from the orphanage. It's only $35 a month and a very simple process. Let me know and I'd be more than happy to get the information to you. If not I ask that you pray for these beautiful children. As one bright child spoke so wisely one night he said "Ya we may need money, we may need food, we may need beds, but more than anything we need prayers."
Fourteen weeks has arrived! The baby will be spending it's 14th week in El Salvador. We leave later today to go visit the orphanage for a week. Please pray for our safety and health as we take on this adventure. I am so beautifully blessed to be able to take on this opportunity one more time before the baby gets here. After my return we have another doctor's visit.
Well we've finally hit the second trimester. And the exhaustion continues. School is finally out and I am done with trainings so I should soon be able to rest and hopefully will find this energy that everyone talks about. I got sick for the first time during week 12, I'm pretty sure it was because I changed prenatal vitamins. I changed back pretty quickly after sprinting to the bathroom faster than I've ran this whole pregnancy! I'm so thankful I haven't had to experience that sickness over and over again. We've continued to share the baby news a few people at a time with loved ones. There's just a few more people we need to tell before the news is fully public. Even though the baby won't be here until December I already have an awesome sub secured for the time I will be out. She was one of the very few people that knew we were trying. She has faithfully prayed for this baby to come into existence for quite some time now and we are so blessed that she has done so. The power of prayer!
The above picture is 12 weeks, not 13, blame it on pregnancy brain. :)
Wow! The past few weeks have flown by and have been crazy busy. I've passed the 10 and 11 week mark and am now in the 12th week. (Twelfth week pics to come soon.) We've continued to share our baby news with many other loved ones. Little baby G took it's first plane ride on a trip to Atlanta and also got to visit Houston. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time and I've gotten to feel my jeans get tighter and tighter. My nausea has pretty much disappeared except for an occasional spell here and there. The exhaustion however is still clearly present...i.e. 2 weeks without a post.
