Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah 29:11
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.

Today, my baby boy has been growing for twenty nine weeks. Each day, each week is such a milestone in our lives. Bill and I stand in amazement every time we hear his precious heartbeat or feel him move. Reaching this milestone has me reflecting on God's wonderful faithfulness. I have to admit that there were plenty of times that I lost all hope that we would ever be parents. There was even a time when I thought I understood "why". I really think the only reason I kept going through the fertility treatments was because I wanted to feel like I was "trying" and I didn't want to admit failure. What I realized today is that my God heard my prayers and my God doesn't know failure! That is where this verse comes into play. God already knew his plan for us and for this child. He knew what twists and turns our lives would take before we got to this point and He knows what our future holds. God is fervent in every promise that He makes to us and I am utterly overwhelmed by His love.

As I look toward the future and raising this precious child, I find myself excited and thrilled with the opportunity to teach Will the love of Jesus and the power of God! What an awesome responsibility and challenge.

Thank you Father for the plans you have for us.

Twenty Three Weeks and Counting!

A lot has happened since I last updated our blog.
First of all, on April 20, we learned that we are having a BOY! William Raymond Blackburn, V is set to make his debut towards the end of September. Bill and I could not be more thrilled.

After that exciting news, Bill was determined that we must choose the look of our nursery. Baby Will will come home to a room decorated in brown and blue with Elephants. Bill was very happy about the colors (yes, believe it or not, he cares) and if you know me at all, you know I LOVE elephants and we are not Alabama fans  We have purchased the bedding and are in the process of working on the nursery.

Finally, last week, we purchased a new car. It is a 2009 Dodge Journey. Nothing fancy, but certainly something that our baby boy will be safe and comfortable in and it has four doors.

It seems like everything we do now is centered around this precious little guy that we haven’t even met yet. The funny thing is, both of us love him more than anything. God has given us such a great gift and responsibility and we are honored and humbled.

Our busy life

Since my last post, we have had a few busy weeks. We moved all of the furniture in the office and living room and Bill and Uncle Corey installed new wood floors in the living room. Of course, they are beautiful and I am thrilled, though our house is not quite back to normal :) I am in desperate need of the energy and nesting instinct that I keep hearing about.
We went back to see Dr. Sharp on March 30th and had a wonderful visit. Baby Blackburn is growing and looks incredibly healthy.
This past weekend was Easter and we had an amazing time! Of course, celebrating the resurrection of our Lord is great, and we did it with our whole family. Friday night, we had dinner with Bill and Michelle, Jessica, Jeromy and sweet little Ryleigh, Daniel and Lindsey. Saturday morning, we had breakfast with Grandma Deb. We then celebrated our friend Erica's 5th birthday with a bunch of our friends. We finished off the day with my Daddy spending the night. Sunday morning, we went to a wonderful worship service, then lunch at Memaw and Pappa's. We finished off the day with an Easter Egg hunt at Aunt Linda's with the rest of my family. WHEW! It really was great!
Now, we are anxiously awaiting Monday morning, when we will learn if Baby Blackburn will play softball or baseball!

Another Day

Well, today has been just another long day. Sometimes it feels like the harder I try to do everything right, the more little mistakes I make. That gets me down, but then I remember that I walk with Jesus holding my hands and everything is ok. I mean, no matter what else is going on right now, Bill and I are going to be Mommy and Daddy! What could be better? We are 13 weeks and 3 days. I can't wait to go back to the Dr. and get new pictures of our little one. In the mean time, God is giving me a good dose of faith and patience and I am trying to learn these lessons. I have a feeling they will come in handy when baby Blackburn arrives!
We are still praying for Bill's schedule to change at work. I have learned that he may go to dayshift everyday, but his off days will be Thursday and Friday. We have lived that before and I truly think it will make a world of difference in his health, so I am still praying for straight shifts.
We see Dr. Sharp a week from today. It is funny. I never thought I would look forward to seeing my OB/GYN this much!

Nannie

This week will be three years since we lost my mom. We miss her incredibly every single day. Some days it seems like a lifetime ago since we saw her, but today it feels new that she is gone. I can't believe that I am having a baby without my Momma by my side. I think it is really starting to sink in that she is not going to be here when our little blessing arrives. I know that she is celebrating in Heaven over our angel and if it is possible, she had a hand in all of this because she wanted us to have children as badly as we do. We miss you Mom! Thank you so much for loving us so much! I know you will be with Bill and I has we go through this exciting adventure. Thank you for the lessons that you taught us and most of all, for encouraging Amy and I to always be close. I couldn't do this without her and with her, I feel like I have some of you too. I will always miss you. It doesn't get any easier as time goes by, but I am so thankful to know that you are with Jesus looking down on us and that we will all see you again soon!

Bill's Birthday and No More High Risk

What a week. On Monday, Bill's 33rd birtday, we went back to see Dr. Sharp. Our little one is still measuring ahead of schedule, but looks completely healthy so we are no longer on the high-risk rotation! Our new due date is September 25, but Bill is still planning on September 30th or later. I know it sounds weird, but we had a great time at the Dr. I swear, I think Bill and I could laugh and act like kids in any inappropriate situation. I love it!
We both had a long week after Monday. We hardly saw each other until Friday night, but I did get to do a couple of fun things. I went to see Cirque Dreams at the Civic Center with Robin and that rocked. On Thursday night, I went to paint with a friend from work and that was fun too, but I really miss Bill when he is on evening shift. I hate evening shift. We are praying that Bill's department will vote to go to straight shifts soon and there will be no more evening shifts or weeks without seeing each other.
This has been a completely emotional week with lots of questions, but we are thrilled with the news from Monday, and resting in God's plan for us! As of Friday, we are at 12 weeks.
For the record, I now am convinced that we are having a little boy. Bill hasn't staked a claim just yet. Angela says its a boy, but she just wants Cole to have a play buddy. Aunt Linda says its a girl and she is only buying pink. Stay tuned and we will capture everyone's opinion, because it won't be too long before Bill is twisting my arm and having them tell us! ;)

March 2 visit to Dr. Sharp

Today was fabulous. We went to see Dr. Sharp for the first time and had a wonderful visit. We are almost ten weeks along. Our ultra-sound was so fun. We heard our little one's precious little heartbeat. We got to see our little ones legs and arms. He was doing flip-flops. The ultrasound technician said that she has never called the sex of a baby so early, but she was pretty sure from what she saw that we are having a baby boy. We won't be painting the nursery just yet, but I think that is really fun and exciting. We will find out for sure in about six more weeks. In the meantime, we are patiently praising God for such a great day and an amazing miracle.

Praise for our Miracle!

Hey guys! We are ready to start sharing our story! Today, we are resting comfortably in God's blessings. Bill and I are expecting a baby. That is the great news, but not where the story began. We were married almost ten years ago. We started trying to have a baby eight and half years ago. We have been through tons of fertility treatments which equals tons of tears, tons of disappointments, tons of frustrations, about 10 surgeries, and tons of dollars! For those of you who have been there, you know. Every month of your life starts out with high hopes, followed by being poked and prodded, followed by being hopeful, then followed by disappointment. Some months its OK and you just look forward to next month; other times, you are heart-broken and devastated. it takes a toll on everything about you: your faith, your relationships, your joy, and your life as a whole. In April 2003 and September 2005, Bill and I learned that we were pregnant. We were elated both times and both times, we were devastated when we learned that we had lost our precious children.
Fast forward to now, after taking a break and rebuilding our friendship and marriage, we decided to give this a try again. Well, I started going to the ART Fertility in August 2008. In November I had another surgery. On December 27 I started another round of shots and on January 5, 2009 Bill and I had our last round of intrauterine insemination. We had prayed and prayed and had decided that we would no longer go through any further treatments if this didn't work. Well the next few weeks were horrible. I had a reaction to the medicine, hyper-stimulated ovaries, swelled up like a whale and hurt constantly. Then on January 19, I went to the Dr. to have blood work. At 11:35 that morning, my nurse called to tell me that we are having a baby. I had just walked in the door and Bill was right here with me. It was wonderful news, but we had been here before. Now came the waiting and praying and praying and praying. After a couple of scares, I went back to the Dr. on February 2nd and saw our precious miracle's heartbeat. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Since then. we had weekly visits and and everything looks great so far. On February 17, we went in for our final visit with Dr. Housermann and ART. Bill and I saw our little miracle move. We are claiming victory through this blessing and can't wait to welcome our little one into this world!