Surprise!

We got a great surprise today that just made our day and our Christmas! I am 15 weeks along today, so we have known that we had 4-5 more weeks before we could find out if we were having a boy or girl. As you know, 3 weeks ago we went to see a specialist to check for genetic disorders. While there, the sonographer made a prediction that we would have a boy; but we kept that under our hat. Today, my OB asked us if the specialist had made a prediction. We told her yes, a boy; and she asked if we wanted her to take a peek. YES! Of course! So, she did, and with a little wiggling around from her HE moved around and let us take a peek. He is for sure a boy! :) We are going to name him Carter Ashton! We are so excited to know! So excited to call him "him" or "Carter" or "Little Man" or anything else boy-ish. And, so excited to start planning the nursery! Baseball/Texas Rangers theme-here we come!!!

Before leaving for the doctor we snapped this 15 week belly shot!

Labor of Love

This holiday season I have found myself a little more reflective than usual on Mary as she carried and birthed Jesus. Something about being pregnant has made me really think about how her situation differs from mine, and if I'm feeling so many different things what in the world must she have been feeling? And then, while working today, this new song from Point of Grace captured my attention. On Monday night we toured the hospital where we will be delivering our precious child. It's a beautiful, pristine Women's Center that strives to make moms and dads feel comfortable and at-home through the entire experience. Listening to this song, I am reminded that Mary's experience was far from what mine will be. It makes the scary part of labor and delivery not so scary when I think about what she went through to deliver the Savior of the World!

Labor of Love by Point of Grace

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
And you could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town
And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Calloused hands and weary eyes
There were no mid-wives to be found
On the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night
So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
For the baby in her womb
He was the Maker of the Moon
He was the Author of the Faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love.

It was not a silent night
On the streets of David's town.