Baby August - Our Christmas Miracle

God calls us to be witnesses of His love, His mercy, His truth, and His power.  I'm not sure I've ever really had a story that proclaimed these things so clearly.  And you might not even believe this story as you read this post, but it's true.

As you know from my post just before Christmas (that I have since made private) we were told that we lost the pregnancy of our little baby August.  Heavy bleeding and cramping coupled with falling HCG levels and nothing to be seen on an ultrasound lead to that diagnosis.  After that devastating doctor's appointment, she sent me to get more blood work to watch my levels fall back down to zero.   I made it through the weekend meditating on this verse:  "My grace is sufficient for you.  For my power is made perfect in weakness"  2 Corinthians 12:9  

His POWER.  I don't ever really think about too often, but I was praying for His power and His peace to overcome me and to just deliver me from my grief.  I had done that and made peace with His timing, only to be running on the treadmill that Monday morning and received a call from my OB.  She said, "Alex, stop running.  Your numbers nearly tripled."  I was in shock, at the gym, and just started crying.  She couldn't tell me what it meant except to say that it was actually good news.  I went in for an ultrasound 2 days later, and to both of our surprise, there was a tiny little bean, measuring just perfect to my original date.  My OB couldn't explain it all.  I still can't explain it all.  So, I give this one to God.  And thank him for this incredible blessing.
For now, we await our miracle Baby August, officially due August 15th.   The first trimester has been relatively kind to me, and I'll start doing bump updates this weekend.  :)

Christmas 2014

What can I say about the past 10 days?  Well, it's been GLORIOUS.  I don't know if it was the girls being the ages that they are, or if it was because it was the first Christmas in our home, but it was just really, really, special. I know that I will remember this Christmas forever, and I'm already tearing up about Monday and having Andrew gone for 65+ hours a week.

The Sunday before Christmas, we had a very lazy day at home after church, followed by going to see Setti's Christmas Village again.  My parents came with us.  That place is so darn awesome and I'm sad that this year was the last year that they are putting up all of those lights.

I was bummed that we were going to have a warm and green Christmas, so the snowfall that evening made it extra magical.  

I worked on Monday and Tuesday, and then Christmas Eve was the start of our special family time.  I baked cookies with the girls in the morning...for Santa.

Then we headed off to church service (which was also exceptionally beautiful this year), and out to the traditional Christmas Eve Chinese food dinner with my parents.  My brother and his girlfriend, Sarah, were staying for Christmas, along with Sarah's mom.  Things are always more fun with more people.

Then we were off to my parents house to receive our gifts from their pets (it's always Christmas PJs).

The dogs did not disappoint this year, and made sure everyone was rocking Hanna Anderson stripes.

I never carry my flash around with me, but I did wish that I had it for our family pajama shot.  It would have helped with the shadows from the overhead lights.  Oh well...still cute ;)

We headed home around 8:30pm or so and Andrew read the girls "The Night Before Christmas".  Since it was way past their bedtime, there was no fighting to go to sleep.

And then, like magic, Santa came!!

But Adalyn was quite distressed that Santa didn't eat all of the cookies. It was the first thing she looked for.  I'll send a special note to him next year so he knows to not leave any on the plate!

Watching them open their presents was SO fun!

Surprisingly, there was minimal fighting over new toys.

Andrew made breakfast.

We played with new toys.

And then, since it was 50 degrees and sunny out, we went for a jog!  My blues about the green Christmas quickly went away.  How wonderful it was to feel that "warm" sun on my face!  After the jog, we headed over to my parents for more presents and dinner.  :)

The girls both got American Girls from my parents.  Well, Eloise got the Bitty Baby, but it's crazy to see Adalyn playing with her doll.  I have so many memories playing with mine.

Andrew's mom flew up from Texas to stay with us for a few days!

And dinner was delicious and fun.  Sarah brought along this fun whistle/music game that I have yet to locate anywhere on the internet, but I'm determined to find it because it was hilarious!

My parent's got Andrew a Big Green Egg smoker, and he's used it almost every day since Christmas. I get to dream about by 30th Birthday in the Bahamas in February - my parents picked up our hotel room AND the babysitting ;)

We even made pizza on it a few nights ago while Andrew's mom was still in town.

The sunsets at our home in the Winter are such a treat.  We had no idea what was behind those trees when we bought it!

Ellie and that tongue!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our little family!