Growin' Up is Hard to Do!

Ha, well some days anyway. Since finding out we were expecting a precious little bundle, Brandon's been hard at work reworking our budget and figuring out all we need to do now that we've bought a house and are going to have a child (a son!). Let me tell you, that involves some work. We've been busy discussing our wills, talking through who would take care of our son in the event something happens to both of us, going through our finances, meeting with financial planners to discuss life insurance so either one of us and our son is covered if something should happen to the other, etc, etc, etc...whew! And that's not even all of it! It's also figuring out how to afford to take care of all these expenses and sitting down and truly praying over what's important and what's a luxury disguised in necessity's clothing. Today we met with a financial planner and started going over our assets and liabilities, what our financial and personal goals are for the future, and our wishes should something happen to us. We went over how we want to finance our child's college education, and our wishes for our child in his early education. We went over disability insurance, long-term care, and at least a dozen other terms that I didn't totally understand, but am luckily married to a CPA who was able to comprehend with ease. We see how we will have to give up luxuries that we've been blinded into seeing as necessities for some time, and I'm reworking our food budget to make it stretch while still making nutritious and healthy meals for my family. And from all this...we are seeking God and his goodness and are being filled by all the wonderful solutions we're finding.

My husband and I have sat many nights on our couch, discussing our future and the way we want to rear our son. A very good friend recommended "Shepherding a Child's Heart" and I can't tell you how blessed and CONVICTED we've been by its message. We're viewing childrearing in a somewhat completely different light and are realizing our true call to our son. There's an excerpt from the book that I keep replaying in my mind that says, "Children do respond. They are not neutral. They are not simply the sum total of what you and I put into them; They interact with life either out of a true covenant of faith or out of an idolatrous covenant of unbelief." To have this be boldly stated has convicted me of the fact that my child will NOT be undeciding; he will choose either to follow the Lord, or he will choose to follow the world. This realization is very sobering and makes me so excited at all Brandon and I are choosing to do and teach our child. We are seeing how we are God's agents to exercise authority with our child and how we cannot afford to direct him for our own agenda or convenience; we are authorities who direct and require obedience because God requires us to obey. However, our authority is not to be seen as cruel, but as one who loves them utterly and profoundly.

Each chapter Brandon and I read, the harder we dive into God's word, seeing how he directs our childrearing and how he guides our hands in our direction. If anything, this book has motivated us to see how living by the Word is of utmost importance not only for childrearing, but for living our lives for the Lord.

Going back to our budget, Brandon asked me if there was any way I could lower our monthly grocery bill. Luckily, we have this wonderful book called "Good Food for Hard Times" and it is full of recipes using basic ingredients. You can tailor them to be more healthful (as I often do), but it shows you the value that basic staples have. I'm looking at planting a garden which I have NEVER done (!), but am very prayful will be a success and something that I can do to provide for my family. I've already started making several recipes from the book and serving them as dinner and Brandon's been very pleased, so it seems we're well on our way!

Oh, and in case anyone's wondering, yes, we're keeping Bundle's name a secret. We're doing this for a couple of reasons: 1) Brandon and I get all the time we need to solidify the name we want for our sweet boy 2)We get to share in having something sweet and private with our boy for a few months 3)Being the oldest of four girls, I never knew what my sisters' names would be and always found it to be such fun the day of their birth when I'd get to not only meet this new sister of mine, but find out her sweet name! It was like Christmas! Luckily, Brandon shares in the desire to keep our baby's name a secret, so you'll have to wait another 17 1/2 weeks to find out! :)

Whew, I've been going on for awhile and haven't even touched on so many other things that have been going on in our lives! I guess that'll just have to wait for another post!

Babies and Anniversaries

What a wonderful start I've had to the new year! On the 2nd, Brandon and I celebrated one year of wedded bliss. It was so fun to remember how wonderful our wedding was! Brandon suggested we look at our wedding photos while we ate our breakfast of yummy cinnamon rolls. Then he gave me my anniversary gift (which he said the first year is the paper year, so he heard) which was our wedding vows, written in calligraphy on sturdy sheets of paper all ready for me to frame. It was so neat to read over the words we wrote to each other and see how they still impact us today and God willing for many years to come. My sweet in-laws said they'd watch Huck and Annie all day and night for us, so we went to Burleson and Fort Worth and ate lunch at TGI Friday's, which would normally not be any big deal, but was because it was where we stopped on our way to the airport after we got married. My husband is SUCH a romantic! Then I took him to get a new pair of pants for work and a couple new ties. He looked so nice and was so excited, since pants were something he'd been needing recently. Did I mention that he even got all dressed up for me? He had a dress shirt, sweater, and tie on and if ANY of you know my husband, you know this is a big deal. He looked so handsome, I was so proud to be on his arm. We walked around Hulen Mall next, and were planning on going to P.F. Chang's for dinner, but I got a little sick, so Brandon suggested we go home, get in our pj's, and order in take-out and watch a movie. Again, what a selfless and adoring husband I have. The day was so wonderful and I feel so blessed to be with such an amazing man.

Moving on to today. Brandon and I have been counting down to this day since our last Dr.'s appt 4 weeks ago. Literally. We had a countdown on the fridge. We've been so anxious to learn whether or not we can call this sweet bundle a "he" or a "she." We got to the doctor's office a little early and were taken right back. Unfortunately, we waited for a little while, but I think it was more of our anticipation built up than the actual time. Finally, our wonderful doctor came in and the sonogram began. He showed us our sweet baby's brain, its arms, chest, legs, and feet. We even got to hear its sweet heartbeat again and I tell you, there is ujst something about hearing your child's heartbeat that makes you want to melt. Finally, he looked at Brandon and me and said, "Now I'm sure there's one question you have for me before you leave, right?" Brandon and I just smiled. He looked down below and said, "Well, looks like you're having a boy." A BOY!! When he showed us our baby's "area," there was NO denying we are in fact having a boy. Brandon just beamed. I think I was just so excited, I couldn't find words. We left walking out on clouds.

So yes people, we're having a sweet little boy. We are so excited and see how great our God is. To be able to see our boy's growing body and know that (so far) everything is going perfectly is such a blessing. We also, however, have assurance in him that even if something DOES go wrong, our God will be right there, carrying us (and our son...wow, I'm going to have a son!) through.

So praise God! Sweet "Boy" Lehrmann will be here before we know it!