Our Inspired Journey

On Friday, all 5 of us woke up early, eager to go to my ultrasound appointment to see our next little family member! The kids, John and I sat in the dark room, lit only by the light of the TV screen in front of us as we watched the projected images of the next little one God had brought into our family. We watched as the technician examined the heart, lungs, legs, arms and toes of the sweet little life God was forming inside of me. Everything was accounted for :) At the end, she asked if we wanted to find out if we would be adding a boy or girl to our family of 5...eagerly we nodded and watched as she showed us, clear as day, that our next little one was a GIRL!

We all beamed (me in disbelief for a second time!) with excitment and immediate joy that we would have another daughter and sister. Our little Cora would not be outnumbered, though I promise you, that little pistol could handle herself better than any girl if she was! She has developed quite a confident spirit about her in the last few weeks, holding her own very well amongst her older brothers! She'll definitely be one to show her little sister the ropes once she comes :)

There aren't words to express how blessed, elated, joyful and excited we all feel. I spent the night before this one much like I did the night before Cora's ultrasound...imagining life with 3 incredible boys...I love my 2 boys SO much and the Lord has taught me so many incredible, life changing lessons through their little lives already, that I was trying to imagine life with my sweet Cora surrounded by her brothers and how beautiful that would be too. The truth is, anyway the Lord decides to make up a family is PERFECT! All boys, all girls...whatever the author of life establishes is nothing short of a miracle, everytime! No exceptions!

I think when you start out with 2 boys, you start to think you are prone to having them! Hearing "GIRL" always comes as a shock...even when it's 2 times in a row! I am still learning what life as the mother of a girl looks like. The more Cora grows, the more I realize how different she is from her brothers and that in giving me both boys and girls to raise, God has definitely called me to diversify my mothering! What a beautiful journey He has us all on. I am thankful to be called to the ONES He's given me. None of us can wait to meet our next sweet one at the end of August...We're still thinking and praying about what the Lord wants us to name her, but we'll keep you posted when we feel certain we've heard the word! On the way back home from my doctor's appointment, Ryder said he thought we should name her "Sally...Sally Toothless...that's a good girl's name!" he said with confidence. We'll see! He also said that having another girl is perfect because now He can be the brother to Cora, and Cole can be the brother to the new baby. Ha! He never stops arranging :)

Enjoy our little girl's first pictures! This is all we'll see of her with our eyes until she arrives at the end of August...hopefully right before her oldest brother's birthday! She's due to share a birthday with him, so we'll find out real quick if she likes to share or will claim a day for herself! Thank you for your prayers for the next 4 months...I can tell you this...she's such a little squirmer already, and oh so cute!!!