Time to Give Thanks

It is that time of year again... College football is winding down, college basketball is picking up, the air is a little cooler and all of the stores are boasting of their great sales. It's great that to this day, we all pause to join with family and friends to feast and give thanks. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year.

We are moving into our 26th week of pregnancy as our child is 14 inches head to heel. Many of you know of our trials at the beginning of the year, which makes us even more thankful to be expecting to meet this child in March. We are also thankful for our jobs. Though we are in a tough economy, we each have jobs where we are considered valuable employees. Josh continues to await test results from the Professional Engineering Exam, and we look forward to good news on that front. Best of all though, we are thankful for our family and friends who have been so supportive to us and continue to shower us with love and a Father in Heaven who is all about grace. As Paul writes, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". We claim faith in the only world's religion that realizes we cannot be perfect and calls us to be saved by the grace of God rather than by our works. We are thankful to live in a country where we can freely worship and thankful to all of those who continue to allow us those freedoms.

Update: We have started our childbirth classes at the Hospital while we continue to get the nursery set up. Sarah has been having back pain and some trouble sleeping, so please be praying for her comfort through out this pregnancy. We also have chosen not to get the swine flu vaccine for Sarah, so please pray for a hedge of protection around her. The picture at the beginning is one of our favorite ultra-sound pictures so far. It shows the feet of our child at 18 weeks. These feet will be blessed to deliver the word of the Lord.

Thank you for being an important part of our lives! Have a blessed Christmas season!

Picking it back up

We live in the information age, right? Ever since getting Blackberry phones, we have realized how much information is out there. With sites like Twitter and Facebook, information available has shot up. People are letting you know when they get up, what they are putting on their sandwich and what they plan to do between now and when they next Twitter. Now, neither of us has gotten that into sharing the aspects of our lives (though I do admit to having a Twitter account, it is more for keeping up with others than for putting up my own info) but we have this nice little blog that can keep others informed.

As you can see, we haven't updated it in a long time. We are approaching the end of the summer of our third wedding anniversary. It has been a fast first three years. A lot has happened. We now have two dogs, Hemi and Coley. Our beloved fish, Lucy, passed on to the big fish bowl in the sky this past winter. I gifted Lucy to Sarah when she first moved into the house to keep her company. We have joined a Life Group at Forest Hill and done life together with people who have become dear friends. Some may know of our struggles this past February and we thank you for your prayers. I have been promoted at work and Sarah has left the Ballantyne YMCA for employment opportunities at UCity YMCA and the Metro YMCA offices. So much has happened, but we have grown and matured as a couple and just begun to realize God's amazing grace over our lives.

Looking forward... We are pumped about starting a new Life Group this fall. We will host meetings at our house and we look forward to meeting new people and forming new friendships. If you are in the UCity area and would like to join, you are more than welcome. Just let us know. Right now the desire of our hearts is for children and we ask for your prayers on this matter as Sarah is in her second trimester of pregnancy. In the mean time, we continue to build a loving home based on a strong marriage built upon the foundations of our personal relationships with Christ.