With Thanksgiving approaching, I wanted to list 24 things that I am thankful for....
1. I am most thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ!!! He is my rock and comforter, He is my strength and biggest fan, He loves me unconditionally and blesses me beyond what I deserve, He died on the cross so I can spend eternity in Heaven!!! He is an awesome God and I love Him with my whole heart!
2. I am thankful for my incredible husband Brad! He is my best friend, the love of my life, and the best dad ever! I have had the honor of being his wife for almost 7 years and can honestly say I love him more and more everyday!
3. I am so thankful for the greatest gift God ever gave me...Grant Holden! The love I feel for my sweet boy is a heavenly love, a love that I prayed for and now am getting to feel and experience everyday! I thank God every night for blessing me with a child, thank Him for answering prayers, and will forever praise Him for Grant. This is my testimony of God's love for me! I am so thankful to be a mommy!
4. I am so thankful for Granna and PB and Fancy! They have blessed my life and influenced who I am. I am thankful for their love and dedication to the Lord and to their family!
5. I am thankful for my family! I have been blessed with wonderful brothers, sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws and nieces and nephews! I love them all!
6. I am thankful for all of my wonderful friends! I have been so blessed to have a close group of girlfriends; I love each one of them individually and each hold a special place in my heart!
7. I am thankful for my health and the health of my family and friends! After having a health scare during and after labor and having to be a hospital patient for a week, I can honestly say I feel very blessed to be in good health!
8. I am thankful for my other son....Murray! Murray is such an incredible spirit, a great brother, an unconditional lover, a best friend, and stole my heart nearly seven years ago!
9. I am thankful for my job! I might gripe about having to work and have loved every second of being at home with my sweet boy, but I am grateful for having a job that I love. I am also thankful for the wonderful women that I get the privilege of working with every day!
10. I am thankful for the roof over my head and food on the table! In a time where there are millions of families struggling to make ends meet, I feel grateful for having the simple things in life and will not take those things for granted.
I will continue my Thanksgiving praises in a later post....
I cannot believe I am so far behind on blogging! I am wanting to blog all the time, but the days seem to escape me before I know it! Anyway, Grant Holden is 11 weeks old today. I am more in love with him each and every day and feel so blessed to be his mommy! He is a happy baby that loves to cuddle, smile, and look at himself in the mirror. He loves his daddy and is beginning to love his Murray! Month two has been filled with many firsts for Grant. Here are a few:
Our first pumpkin patch visit with the Bucks
Adorable!
First 5k race; he slept through the entire race
Brad and I's first date night; Avett Brothers Concert..Notice the cell phone in hand..ha ha!
Aunt Michelle's first visit
Grant's first Halloween pj's
This was the first day I went to work for a few hours and Grant went to Mrs. Terri's house
Grant and Murray enjoying one of the first days of fall
Grant's first outdoor movie
First pair of blue jeans
first cold morning run
first matching family photo
first stuffed up nose
The month of "firsts" has been such an amazing month! I am loving being a mommy and feel so incredibly blessed to have two wonderful men in my life (three counting Murray)! God is so good all of the time!!!
To celebrate Grant's one month birthday, I thought I would write down some (of course, I could never write all of the reasons) of the things I love about Grant, being a mom, and my family....
1. I love to snuggle with Grant. He puts his sweet head on my chest where my heart is and just melts in my arms. I hope to never forget what this feels like!
2. I love praying over my sweet child each night before bed. God you are so good!
3. I love the way he smells...there is a sweet baby smell.
4. I love getting Grant up out of bed every morning. He is so adorable in his sleep sack and mittens. I prayed for so long to have a baby in that room...it feels so complete!
5. I love rocking Grant.
6. I love watching my amazing husband with his son! They look just alike...I love that too! I love when Brad talks about all the father/son things Grant and him will do together...except motorcycle ride...ha ha!
7. I love when Brad plays music and sings to Grant. I hope that our house is filled with music and joy through the years and that Grant is as talented as his daddy.
8. I love all the sounds, funny faces, and grunts Grant makes.
9. I love spending my days with my little man...even if we can't really go anywhere!
10. I love seeing Grant with my two favorite women...I am sure they will be his first loves!
11. I love that Grant is healthy and happy!
12. I love that God has given me the job of raising Grant and helping me mold him into a man of God!
13. I love laying in bed in the evening before Grant's bedtime with my family...Brad, Grant, and Murray!
14. I love how absolutely perfect he is (I know I might be a little bias)!
15. O.K. I could go on forever! I love my sweet family and precious gift from God! I feel so blessed and grateful. I am trying to cherish every moment and forever lock them into my heart and memory! Here are a few more pics of little G!
OK....I am super behind on blogging and really don't even know where to begin. As many of you know Brad and I unexpectedly welcomed our miracle baby into this world on August 9th at 1:11. What an incredible gift from God! I am overwhelmed with gratefulness, joy, and pure love every time I look at sweet Grant and think back about the journey we went through to get him here. I am completely sure God had his hand protecting Grant and molding him....I am excited about the great things in store for Grant and his walk with his Father!
Let the story begin....
During a regular doctors appointment on a Friday afternoon, Grant measured small. My doctor was a bit concerned about this because he had been measuring normal until this visit. We decided that an ultrasound would be a good idea just to make sure everything was still healthy and Grant looked good. We scheduled the doctor's appointment for the 9th. I later found out that Brad couldn't go to the doctor visit with me on the 9th due to work conflicts; therefore, I called the doctor on Monday the 8th and begged them to try and squeeze us in that afternoon so Brad could see our ultrasound. Luckily the doctor could see us that afternoon; Brad and I were so excited to see little Grant on the ultrasound because we hadn't had an ultrasound since 21 weeks. Happy birthday Brad (the 8th was Brad's 33 birthday)! After we had the ultrasound, we met with the doctor. He was very concerned about Grant's size and my urine sample had come back positive for protein. Both of these factors made the doctor concerned that I was developing Preeclampsia; therefore, he admitted us into the hospital for 24 hour monitoring. They were going to take blood, get more urine samples, etc. At this time we were nervous, but thought we would go home the next day and maybe have Grant early the next week. Boy were we wrong!
To make a long story a bit shorter, the doctors decided the next morning that is was in the best interest for Grant and myself to deliver Grant that afternoon via c-section. Here is a picture of Brad and I pre c-section:
I was very nervous about having Grant early. I prayed that he was healthy and his little lungs were ready for the world. I prayed that God would protect him during the c-section and that he wouldn't have to go to the NICU. God answered my prayers yet again! He has shown me time and time again that he is faithful and that Grant is His son. Grant Holden was born on August 9th happy and healthy! He weighed 5.6 and was 18 inches long. He is perfect!
1 Samuel 1:27-28
"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord."
Thank you God for Baby Grant! He is such a blessing to Brad and I and a testimony of your great love for us. Please guide us and help us be great examples to him through our walk with you. Lay your hands on Grant and mold him into a great warrior for you. Please use our family to glorify your name! Amen.
Ok...back to the story....During the C-section, the doctors realized I had a severe case of preeclampsia. The fluids had built up around my organs. We were so thankful that Grant was healthy and unaffected by all that was going on in my body. After the c-section, we spent time with little Grant and introduced him to our families. I don't remember a lot from this day because during the c-section they had to give me more medicine which made me "loopy". The next morning is when everything started going downhill for me. We awoke the next day with the doctor very concerned for my health. I had developed HELLP syndrome; which is a condition that can occur to patients that had preeclampsia. Basically, I was really sick and was not allowed to get out of bed, eat, drink (the nurses gave me small sips and ice) and was only allowed to sit up in bed while I was nursing Grant. We spent the rest of the week in the hospital.
Finally, after a long week of recovery and being blessed with a healthy baby boy, we were released on Sunday to go home! I am 100% sure that the power of prayer helped me recover and kept Grant healthy. God showed me time after time that He would protect the thing nearest to my heart even in the midst of everything going on around Grant. I just had to trust Him and be faithful even during the hard times.We all go through trial and tribulations throughout life, but me must keep our eyes on the Lord, stay faithful through prayer, and praise His name through all things good and bad!
Going Home....praise the Lord....
I am finally home with my boys and feeling so blessed each day. I have so many more stories and pictures to update the blog with; I will try to add another entry in the upcoming days!
Ok...one more quick post and update! Exactly one month from today (August 2nd) is Grant Holden's expected due date (September 2nd)! Wow! Where has the time gone? I really can't believe it is almost time for Brad and I to meet our sweet baby boy! We are truly getting so excited and overjoyed by our expanding family. Here are a few things that have warmed my heart lately about our family and how overwhelmed I am with love and gratitude:
*Brad talking to Grant, whistling songs to him, and tapping on my stomach....Grant kicking in response to his daddy. This makes me feel so proud and blessed!
*Finding sweet Murray in Grant's room sleeping by his crib!
*Fancy buying a crib for Grant for his weekend visits...he is a lucky boy!
*Granna sending me sweet texts and encouragement and truly being so excited about meeting her 6th grandchild! He will love her so much.
*PB getting excited about taking Grant hunting when he is bigger!
*All his cousins that already love him...even though he is "stealing" a pacifier from Nora and is not another girl for Sammye Kate to play with...ha ha!
*My constant and overwhelming love for Grant!
Thank you Lord for an amazing family! I feel so blessed!
