living with uncertainty...

The past few weeks we've been taking life a day at a time. There is much work that lies ahead in the weeks to come, but much of it we can't give ourselves to yet. Looking ahead at this upcoming month I can feel a lot of uncertainty...Will we be moving or not? When will this take place? Will this baby girl be born in the middle of total chaos...with boxes and things everywhere?

I was wrestling with thoughts like these last night as I was trying to drift off to sleep. And then I was reminded of a quote I had read on my friend, Megan's blog a few weeks ago (she, by the way, always posts the best quotes...always so encouraging to my soul). I read it once again, and my soul was once again strengthened:

.gracious uncertainty.

“Certainty is the mark of the common-sense life:
gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life.
To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways,
we do not know what a day may bring forth.
This is generally said with a sigh of sadness,
it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation.
We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God.
Immediately we abandon to God, and do the duty that lies nearest,
He packs our life with surprises all the time…
We are not uncertain of God, but uncertain of what He is going to do next.
…when we are rightly related to God,
life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy…

Leave the whole thing to Him,
it is gloriously uncertain how He will come in,
but He will come.
Remain loyal to Him.”

_oswald chambers

I feel uncertain of exactly what these next few weeks will hold. I know we most likely will be facing a lot of change...moving from our first and only home, moving to a temporary home, getting a car big enough for three little ones and having a third sweet girl born into our family...and change is not something I particularly like or am good at adjusting to. And I definitely do not enjoy all this uncertainty. But that is part of what living the Christian life is all about:

"We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God."

I'm praying for the grace to continue to live just a day at a time. At peace with the uncertainty. At peace with our closing date being moved back week after week (its now June 15th, best case scenario...my due date is the 13th). I may be uncertain about all the changes and circumstances this next month may hold. BUT I AM CERTAIN OF GOD. And thank God he knows and controls and ordains every detail of my life, and he promises it will be good (Romans 8:28)... maybe not my preference, but ultimately for my good. I'm resting there.

Holden Beach

May 1-8th we had an incredible week at the beach with some of our dearest friends.

The Swans, Seavers and our family shared a 5 bedroom, ocean front house (which we got for sooo cheap) in Holden Beach.

It was one incredible week at the beach!

Daddy & his girls.

The kiddo's:

Kathryn, Abi, Daniel, Emma, Alathea, Sarah Evelyn and Ali.

Six girls and one lone boy! He's one lucky boy in years to come!

We had tons of "friends time", yet still managed to get tons of "family time" too.

Alathea's favorite beach activity: chasing the sea gulls!

Being the first week of May, we literally had the beach to ourselves!

Below: our beach house.

One very awesome bonus was that the house had a hot tub.

Any day that was overcast all the kids piled in their "pool"

And the adults enjoyed it in the evenings.

It had a sweet view of the ocean:

The big boys had fun together.

They played golf two times together (and practiced on the beach:)

They also played bocce ball and fished. Joe & Nick caught fish a few afternoons.

The weather was lovely and the kids had no problem playing in the ocean.

I'm loving those curls!

Ali definitely won cute baby award!

Digging holes, making castles and looking for sand crabs were daily activities.

Little Mermaids.

Joe & I are convinced that the beach, especially with extended family or friends, is the best vacation with little kids. Our kids are so happy at the beach!

Moving Update

Just a quick update on our pending move. God has blessed us with dear friends who have provided a wonderful house for us to rent...it has tons of space and a big back yard with a swing set that the kiddo's will love. We'll stay there until the baby is born and we get a chance to look for a home to buy. This is a huge answer to prayer!

On the flip side, things with our contract seem to be moving slow, to say the least. For an entire week our Realtor tried to get in contact with the buyers agent, and he got zero response to phone calls or e-mails. It was quite bizarre. We started to wonder if this was going to be another deal that will just fall apart.

Yesterday he did get in contact with the agent and her broker, and they say everything is on as planned. The good thing is it seems that things will eventually, Lord willing, progress. But the near future still seems somewhat of a mystery....as we are supposed to close on May 21st...that is 8 days from now. And we've yet to hear word of her loan, appraisal and have yet to set a date for an inspection. A funny situation we are in! But fortunately, one that God is in complete control of!

On a happy note, just 4 weeks from my due date!! And we got to see the sweet little thing on Tuesday morning during a sonogram. She's looking great. She's definitely a girl and seems to be even smaller than the other girlie's (although over 5 lbs right now!). And the 3D pictures look just like her sisters. It'll be fun to meet her soon!

5 more weeks...

My due date is less than 5 weeks away (June 13th).

Hard to believe I am almost 9 months pregnant.

Life feels quite unsettled right now, as we are approaching a move that is right now scheduled for May 21st. Our buyers loan paperwork has not completely gone through yet, so even though our closing date is less than 2 weeks away, we are "sitting tight" as much as we can, until we know for certain we're moving. That is easier said than done, when every ounce of me just wants to "nest" and get things in order for this little girls arrival.

I have such a mixture of emotions about moving. I tear up every so often at the thought of leaving this little home. Then I'm temptation to be anxious if the deal falls through. Its hard to imagine having to put our house on the market yet again. Then I'm tempted to feel overwhelmed at all that needs to be done to pack and move and unpack if all goes as planned...into a home that would be just temporary. (Don't you just love when pregnancy hormones collide with my already sinful heart...yikes!) Just another reminder that I must place ALL of my trust and confidence on my Heavenly Father who loves me and knows far better than I do what is best for me. He is my portion and my all in all, not where I live. And not having everything in order before the baby comes.

We just returned from an amazing week at Holden Beach with some of our dearest friends. Funny timing, given all that we have to do in the next two weeks, but in many ways it was the perfect timing. We had so much sweet time as a family, with our friends, relaxing, resting and took lots of long walks with long and helpful talks. And it was a wonderful week for me to have extra time with the Lord (I needed it!). At some point I'll post more about our trip.

While things with our "move" are very much pending in every way, this little one will Lord willing make her arrival sometime in June. Hard to believe these are my last few weeks as a Mom of two little girls...its soon to be THREE!

The soon to be Big Sisters

(I hope Abi is as happy about her little sis as she is about that ice cream :)

This may be the Abi that shows up when she realizes she's not my only baby anymore!

This one is already a pro at the big sister thing.

And she is SOOOO excited about "her baby".

This one still thinks she's my baby.

And obviously she always will be. But soon she's gonna realize there is another baby in my life.

I'm gonna need much mercy and grace from the Lord when she does :)