This Might Seem Random: 2014

My pregnancy will be over in the next 1-2 days and I can’t help but feel ready. As fruitful as carrying a baby in the womb is, comfortable is something it is not. I have always enjoyed the thought of being pregnant, but with each week of pregnancy, I realized it was not as glamorous as I had once thought it to be. The bad thing about your first pregnancy is there is no reward until baby arrives. Only the unknown of what each week will bring, as well as the unknown of what motherhood will bring. It’s a weird feeling for sure. I found it to be harder than I thought to bond with my baby in the womb. And in fact, some days I found myself forgetting that I was even pregnant (before 20 weeks at least). I really thought I would have my baby before my due date (which I guess was just wishful thinking). Today I am 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant. My official maternity leave started on Sunday 3/9/14 which was my due date. At first I was a little anxious about being off and me not having the baby yet. But these past few days have actually been a huge blessing. I find myself bonding, nesting, enjoying and craving more moments to spend with my husband, just the two of us. I feel relaxed and ready to stop thinking about when I am going to go into labor. It will happen when it does, or by my induction date. Maybe it’s this gorgeous spring break weather, or the fact that I am no longer having to work, but I suddenly feel like I could be pregnant much longer! Not many 40 week pregnant people will say that J

Yet here is a confession that plagues me just a little: I still can’t picture life with a child. Being a mom still seems like a distant life in the future, that I can look forward to and think “that will be nice someday”. That day does not feel like any day now.

I do wonder what my baby will look like, whether baby C is a boy or girl, what kind of personality and traits it will take from mommy versus daddy. I really look forward to seeing my husband become a father. This is something I can picture well and know it’s going to be such a fun thing for me to watch and be a part of.

As I sit here on the couch in my living room, staring out this grand window at the gorgeous sunny day and share my thoughts, I feel at peace. So many exciting things happened in these last 40 weeks I’m in awe at how God’s hand truly was at work, since we first moved here to Longview. The timing just feels so right for us. And I know now that I am ready. Ready for this miracle of life! Ready for motherhood! Ready for life to get crazy and me to learn what it really means to fly by the seat of my pants.

Just want to end by giving thanks! Thanks to a God who has shown Himself mighty in my life. Who has blessed me with redemption and given me a security in knowing my future is decided. Who continues to mystify me and perform miracles in my heart. Who does a good work in me and gifts me with a joy that could never be experienced otherwise. Thank you for allowing me to be held in the palm of your hand and rest. Thank you for allowing me such a treasure as to be a mother. Thank you for always being ready, even when I am not.

And for all you friends and family out there, thank you all for the love and support you have shown Cameron and I while we journey into parenthood. Can’t wait to introduce Baby C to all of you!!!

Now bring on the labor!

Here are some recent pics of us and the nursery:

Due date pic 3-9-14

Cam and I at dinner on 3-12-14

"I think its a..."

In the 9 months since writing the last blog post, I find myself stunned with all the changes in our life. I don’t know where to start really. So I will try to hit the big life updates.

Summer of 2013 was a busy season for us. It was my first realization as to what a youth pastor does during the summer time....ALOT! It is “Go-time” for sure. VBS for a week, children’s camp for a week, youth camp for a week, high school mission trip for a week, middle school mission trip for a weekend, youth backpacking trip for a week.

I was lucky to get some time off of work this summer and was able to go to youth camp in Glorietta, New Mexico, go on a mission trip to Haiti, and go on the youth backpacking trip to Colorado. All 3 of these events were huge blessings in different ways. God really showed himself BIG to me and I am so thankful for being his beloved child.

Camp Fuge 2013

Real Nepli! Me and my soccer team in Haiti!

Wilderness Trip 2013
Mt. Massive 14, 427 ft.

In August we announced the upcoming arrival of Baby Reynolds, due March 9, 2014. We are so excited to become a family of 3. We made the decision to not find out the sex, so it's going to be a surprise! By the way, I love surprises :)

In September we started our hunt to buy a house. Our lease was up in November and we knew we were ready to finally become home owners! We wanted to start our family in a permanent house. No more jumping around from rental to rental.

In October, we closed on our house! We found the most perfect house for us on the second day we went looking. It really was love at first site. We went back twice in the same day to look at it again. We thought and prayed for 7 days before we went ahead and put an offer on it. A couple weeks later, we closed and it was ours! I thought it would take us a long time to find something, and since we didn’t have a lot of time before our lease was up I was a little nervous about it all. Yet it just seemed to work out so perfect, the timing and everything.

Our new house!

In November we moved into the new house and all the home owning purchases began. Our sweet youth group surprised us with a house warming party. Such a touching evening. I also started a new job! I transferred units at my hospital and am now working as a Labor and Delivery nurse. This was the most exciting change for me. After 6-7 years of working in the ER I knew I was ready for a change. An opportunity at my hospital opened up with a big expansion of our maternal child unit and I found myself really being drawn to pursue a L&D position. I had started my pursuit back in April and it took nearly 6 months before I found myself officially transferred. It was a long season of waiting and patience for me, as I continued to search for purpose in a job that was hard for me to enjoy. But like everything in life that doesn’t happen in our timing, there were reasons for it. I experienced new challenges in the past year that helped grow and shape me. It was just the year that I needed to remind me that God is sovereign and to place my trust in something greater than my needs and desires. It had been a long time since I have had such a spiritually growing year. And I am thankful for this!

December was a blur. I tried to enjoy the Christmas time but it seemed to fly by. We didn’t send Christmas cards out, or even “We moved” cards. So if you need our new address, just text or email me!

January is here, and I’m trying to slow down, and maybe start this nesting thing. We haven’t touched the nursery room yet, but hey I still have 8 weeks J The best part of the year was watching my husband perform his first wedding ceremony for his younger sister Caitlin and her husband Rob. It was such a special evening. I couldn’t help but tear up as Cameron talked about marriage to his little sister and future husband. In the ceremony he shared his beliefs on marriage and how God is the only way a marriage can persevere in our world today. It was touching and so special. I am so thankful to have a husband who loves the LORD so much and keeps me accountable to God in life and marriage. Wishing all you readers a happy, blessed, and growing year in 2014. With a child on the way, we are sure to have a very growing year ahead!