We serve a God of 11:59

It's true...we serve a God who believes in the time 11:59. Meaning...sometime He has you wait until the very last minute before He completely shows himself, or completes His work or what have you. He has a reason for it, and although we can not always know God's ways or understand Him, we continue to trust in Him and believe in Him...which is really all he asks us to do in the first place!

We had another doctors appointment and ultrasound today. Everything went well. Israel is continuing to grow well and development is the same. He is a growing boy who weighs approximately 5lbs 12 oz. His hair is really starting to come in now too. He is still breech and seems to be quite comfortable in this position. He was very entertaining at the ultrasound as he was trying very hard to convey to the tech that he wasn't interested in having his picture taken...lol. He was a movin and a shakin and not wanting to hold still. He would kick her or push her when she put any pressure on him, and he refused to turn his head for a decent picture of his cute little face. Stinker! Our doctor checked me and I am dilated to 2-3 centimeters, so that's exciting! We are hoping he decided to stay put at least a few more weeks, but we will just have to wait and see. I am all ready to go when the time comes. As excited as I am for him to be here, I know there is a reason God made pregnancy 40 weeks, and I am just trying to remember that!

Thank you all for your continued prayers, support and love. We can feel it, seriously. We continue to have a peace that suprasses all understanding. In the midst of a time where we "shouldn't" feel such peace...we do! God is so good and so faithful. We still believe with our whole hearts that Israel will have complete healing before he is born. We are excited as the pregnancy draws near and we get closer to meeting our miracle baby.

Love to all of you!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

I have some randomness that I thought I would just throw together in this one post :-)

If you haven't noticed, on the top right side of my blog, there is a little icon that says "Pray for Israel" with his picture in it. This is a "Button" I made for our blog :-) Below this button is a random bunch of letters and numbers. This is the code. If you have your own blog, you can grab our button for your own blog. Copy the code, and paste it into your own blog and share Israel's story with others. Help get the word out, the more prayers the better!

If you scroll down on my blog you will also notice other buttons on the right side. These are other peoples blogs that I read and that I am praying for. Feel free to click on these and check them out, and while you are at it, say a little prayer for their miracle baby too.

Twitter...I added this to my blog so that when the day comes and we go into labor, I can keep you all up to date on what's going on. We don't have a laptop, so updating my blog isn't going to happen until we are home from the hospital. But with twitter, I can send updates to it from my phone (It's on the right side...just a tiny ways down) and it will add these updates to my blog! For those of you who only read my blog when you get the e-mail updates, that isn't going to work with this. You are going to have to actually check my blog to see them.

I want to say it again, THANK YOU, to all of you who have been so faithful to pray for Israel and our family during this pregnancy. You mean more to us then you will ever know. Each and every prayers you have lifted up has been heard by God. He is a faithful God and we continue to trust him with the little life he has given us. Please continue to pray as we are in the last weeks of pregnancy.

Wishing...Waiting...Anticipating...

So today is February 21st and it marks the 36th week of this pregnancy. Why does this matter you ask? Because my two other little blessings were both born at 36 weeks! With both of them there was no sign that this would happen, my water just broke! So it makes me wonder...will the same thing happen with little Israel too? Part of me is very much wishing it will. I have entered the "pregnancy isn't always fun" stage. I don't sleep well at all, I feel like I swallowed a watermelon with legs, I seem to be starving all the time, etc. Also...I am so ready to meet my sweet little miracle baby that I have been carrying around for the past eight months. But on the other hand...I know there is a reason that pregnancy is supposed to be 40 weeks, not 36. Both Rachel and Jaxon had minor problems when they were born, due to being early, and it would be nice to not have to deal with those things again. But no matter what I think, I know that my God is bigger than anything and He is in control. I have complete faith that when God is ready for Israel to arrive, he will :-) So in the mean time...I am just wishing, waiting and anticipating.

Side note: We have our next doctors appointment on Tuesday, and we would appreciate your prayers. Thank you all for your faithfulness.

While I'm Waiting

Jon and I watched the movie "Fireproof" recently. (Side note...I would HIGHLY recommend this movie...just look past the low-budget not so great acting...and it is really an awesome movie with GREAT purpose! Jon and I both cried many times throughout it.) Anyway...in this movie there is a song I have never hears before and it really caught my attention and seemed very fitting for the journey we are going through with Israel. I tried to remember a few of the lyrics and when the movie was done I goodled it. I found it and fell in love with it! The song is called "While I'm Waiting" and I am saying this is our new "Israel's Journey Song" :-) I added it to my playlist on my blog (If you have never noticed that a song plays automatically when you open my blog...turn up your volume! If you are reading this in an e-mail, click on the link to open my blog and it should start playing). I would encourage you to listen to it and allow it it minister to you as it has to me. I am sure many of you can relate to this with many situations you have going on in your own personal life right now. God always hears our prayers...He may not answer you right away...or maybe his answer is to wait! Be faithful, Wait upon the Lord, He does hear you and He will answer you. Remember...in order to know His answer, you have to listen. Don't forget this part! We so often pray and then busy ourselves so much that we never hear His answer. Take the time, stop, be still, and really listen. He will answer you! And if He says to wait...continue to serve Him, continue to worship him...While you Wait!

While I'm Waiting :
By: John Waller
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

The BIG reveal is yet to come…

We had another ultrasound and doctor appointment today. It showed that Israel is still developing the same as he has been thus far. He is growing very well and is now about 4 pounds! And he is still breech with his head tucked nicely against and sometimes under my ribs! This was the first ultrasound that showed he has some hair and that was fun to see! He has little peach fuzz all over his head. The tech was able to get some great pictures of his face straight on and his adorable cheeks and button nose…he is SO cute!

I always seem to have mixed feelings on these days. Part of me is super excited and hopeful…the other part of me gets a bit nervous and anxious. Which is why it is wonderful that God gave me Jon. He is my strength when mine gets low. He is my encourager and reminder of the promises that God has given us. He always has something very insightful that I need to hear. This is what is was today.
“I think that the reason we aren’t seeing any changes when go into these appointments is because then it will be just that much more evident that God was the one who healed him and that there was no way it could just have been something that was “overlooked” or “missed”. This way we will have months of proof that Israel did have absent hands and feet. It will be said on every medical report and every ultrasound (Which have been done by a different tech every time!) until the day he is born. And they are sure going to be in for a shock when he is born and he is completely healed!”

I thank God all the time for giving me such a wise and Godly husband. He is my everything and I am so thankful for him. God knew exactly what he was doing when he put us together.

What Jon said is truly our belief. We believe with our whole hearts that God will complete the work he has started in Israel and that when he is born HE WILL BE HEALED! This is our belief and it is what we cling to when we have moments of doubt. We continue to read the scriptures and remember the promises of God.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement. We go back in two weeks just for an appointment, and two weeks after that for another ultrasound & appointment. We will keep the updates coming as there is any new information.

Here it is...

A few of you have asked and I thought, no reason not to share it! So here it is, the quilt and bedding I made for Israel. :-) I am so excited to someday soon see my sweet little boy resting in here...only 54 days left (If I go full term!)


Also, we have another doctor appointment on Tuesday (1/27/09) ~ And as always we are believing God to continue to show himself and do a miracle in Israel's life. We thank you for all your many prayers! We will update you soon about how the appointment goes.

A little quiet...

Ok, so I realize things have been a little quiet around my blog. Sorry...there just isn't much to write about and I don';t want to bore you with blogs that are just about stuff. However...I figured it was due time I wrote something on here :-) So here are a few of the things going on around here.

I have been working on Israel's nursery (AKA Jaxon's room!). It's so much harder to set things up when they have to share a room. I did however get all of his bedding finished (I made it all and I am absolutely in love with it!) and his crib set up. I also got his dresser organized with all of the clothes that have been given to me all ready (Such a huge blessing to have hand-me-downs!).

I have another ultrasound and doctors appointment on Tuesday January 27th. We are looking forward to it, as always.

My baby shower is just around the corner (January 31st) of which I am SO excited for!!! My sister is doing it and has put a ton of time and effort into it. I just know it will be amazing! I think there will be a sigh of relief from me though when it is done because then I will know what else I need to buy to get ready for Israel before he is born. I am a HUGE planner so waiting to get "Everything" I need is always so hard for me.

God is continuing to increase our faith. Our church family is amazing! They continue to bless us with prophetic words and encouragement about Israel and his healing. Reminding us God is ALWAYS in control. How blessed we are to have such warriors for God in our life!

My belly continues to get HUGE! LOL :-) I am loving it...but I feel like I grow every day! Sleeping is becoming a hassle and the bathroom is my best friend...ha ha! Israel is still breech so I have this big hard head shoved between my ribs while his legs "rest" on my bladder! :-) And I feel like I am starving...all the time! Awe, the joys of being pregnant. (I am almost 32 weeks!!! Getting close!!!)

Ok, I think that is all for now. I will be sure and post an update after our appointment to let you all know how it goes. Blessing to all of you!

Wordless Wednesday (30 Weeks)

In HIS Timing!

We had our ultrasound and doctor appointment today. All appendages and such are still the same and growing at an acceptable rate for what they are. He is right at the 50th percentile for growth which is right where they would like him to be. He is measuring at 2 lbs 14 oz, which they say is perfect. My placenta is in a great place still and no worries about placenta previa as there were in the beginning. Israel is still breech, although the doctor continues to not be worried about it and says 95% of all breech babies flip on their own before delivery. During the ultrasound little Israel opened his mouth a few times and that was fun to watch. That was the first time we had seen him do that :-)

We continue to trust God with this precious little boy and have Faith that He is in control and that all things are done in His timing...which isn't necessarily our timing (This is a hard thing for me at times!) We hold onto the promised in the Bible and the words that God has spoken to us. We look forward to the future with anticipation of continuing to see even more just how Great the God that we serve really is. We have given this little one to Him and know that He will take care of him.

Ecclesiasties 11:5 says this
You don't know where the wind blows, and you don't know how a baby grows inside the mother. In the same way, you don't know what God is doing, or how he created everything.

Thank you Lord for your love and care for everyone of your children, including Israel. We are so blessed to serve such an awesome and mighty God. Your will be done!

Prayers for another appointment

Hi everyone. Just wanted to send out a quick update to let you all know that we have another doctor appointment scheduled for Tuesday January 6th at 9:30am. Please keep Israel in your prayers as we wait with anticipation to see what the Lord is going to do next. We will post a new update as soon as we can to let you all know how it went. We continue to have complete faith in the Lord our God to complete the work he has started in Israel and for his COMPLETE healing! We love you all and pray blessings upon each and everyone of you! You have no idea how much you mean to us!