Fence for the Backyard

Dan spent the past 2 Saturdays building a fence for our backyard. Last Saturday, July 7th, he and his friend Aaron dug all the holes and concreted in the posts. This past Saturday, Dan was able to recruite several more friends from church to help- Todd, Jeremiah, Brian, Aaron, and also both our dads. They were able to get all the crossbeams and pickets hung. Then Sunday, Dan's brother Chris came over to help build and install the gates. We'll hopefully have some pictures to post soon.

Also last Saturday, my sister Jessica threw a really fun and intimate baby shower with some of my closest friends. Thank you Jess for your hospitality and creativity with the great food and fun games. Everyone especially seemed to enjoy the "Nursery Rhyme Charades"! Also thanks for not playing the "toilet paper to measure the mom's belly" game. :-) Dan and I got so many great gifts at this shower - many much needed items like diapers, wipes, toys, dolls, and bath items. Ethan is one blessed little boy! Now if we can just keep our dog from adopting all Ethan's toys as her own, we'll be set!

Tomorrow we go back to UNC Hospital for our weekly checkup and monitoring of the amniotic fluid. Please pray that the fluid levels have not dropped too low so that Ethan doesn't have to be delivered too early. We want him to be born as full term as possible so his lungs will be well developed. We'll let you know how the appointment goes and what the doctor plans to do if the fluid levels are low.

Baby Shower

Today my friends, Leah and Sarah through me a very beautiful and fun Storybook-themed baby shower! It was fun to see all the hard work they put into planning the food, decorations and games! Thank you ladies for all your hard work and for all the fun we had. Also thank you to everyone that made it to the shower and for all the great baby gear and gift cards we received! It was great to have a day to focus on the fun part of becoming parents, instead of the long road we know lies ahead as we trust God with our son's life during his surgery. Today helped me to forget about that for a few minutes and just enjoy all the cute, small clothes I'll get to one day dress Ethan in!

Thanks also for all the prayers and support we know we have as we face the challenges that lie ahead. It's comforting to know we'll be covered in prayer, 24/7 through labor, delivery and the surgery. What an awesome God we serve - to Him be all the glory forever and ever! We rest assured in knowing that God, our Abba Father, will be with us every step of the way. Lord, from the day he was conceived, we have committed Ethan to you. He is not ours, he's Yours and we thank You for the priviledge of getting to be his earthly guardians for as long as You let us!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer. 29:11

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Prov. 3:5-6