Year End Reflections of God's "Grace" and Goodness ;-)

This year has been a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs -but mostly ups - and we credit it all to God!
First of all, I (Stephanie) am so thankful that He has used me to volunteer at the Pregnancy Information Center (PIC) to help empower women and men to make life-affirming choices. Doing limited OB ultrasounds has been the highlight for me & I was recently re-certified in this area - something I should be keeping up with every year that I volunteer there to stay competent. I enjoy blessing others, but feel like I am the one who is ultimately blessed because of the godly women that serve there--especially my nurse manager Janna Woodard who is such a testimony to God's faithfulness & love. She has a servant's heart bigger than most & I look up to her a lot.
It's amazing how much Satan seeks to destroy families of those who are trying to serve God, but even more amazing to see God at work! It reminds me of the spiritual warfare seen abundantly in India (missions trip 2007) which really opened my eyes. I also remember someone saying that if you're being attacked by Satan, you must be living for Christ & visa versa! A difficult thing for me to swallow sometimes.... But it make one thankful for the struggles we go through & helps me see how God is ultimately in control. It was from the ladies at PIC that I learned the importance of fasting and prayer and how powerfully God can work when we give Him the first portion of our year by giving up certain desires (whether it be chocolate, sweets, etc). It was after reading through the book "Fasting" by Jentizen Franklin that I felt God calling me (through the Scripture found in the book & the author's testimony) to fast/pray for the first time. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to know God's will & wanting to grow closer to Him with a better awareness of His reality & presence. I now see why Satan would not want people to fast and pray because of how it opens doors to God's blessings. This year has been filled with many, mainly with our little Gracelyn & Vince's new job (even better than the one he lost - God had it all planned from the beginning!). Also the answer to prayer that my brother Tim's friend turned to Christ this year! This by far is the greatest blessing because it results in a precious soul saved from hell for eternity! Praise the Lord!
These blessings are not because of anything I/we have done, because we certainly do not deserve this goodness - we deserve death (separated from God in hell) because of our sins. It is only because of what Christ has done on the cross that we have eternal life in heaven-- and ABUNDANT life here on earth because of God's love for us. ("We love Him because He first loved us" -1 John 4:19) This does not mean Vince and I haven't had our trials, because we certainly have & will continue to have them as everyone does. Without these trials, I don't believe I would have been drawn to seeking God as I had been. Doesn't it seem like most, if not all, trials are to help draw us to Christ?? But as with most people, when the good times come, it is easy for me to fall into a rut of life's circumstances & forget to spend as much time with God as I should. I am hoping we can start out the New Year with a revived sense of God's presence & grow closer to Him - especially now that we will have a little one who will be looking to us for guidance. I have to remember that before we were pregnant, I prayed the prayer of Hannah & gave our little one to the Lord - so we are instruments to be used of Him to raise Gracelyn. We need to keep these "instruments" tuned & spiritually strong to be godly parents & spouses. We need to trust God to help us do this and for all the rest. Until next year, May God be with you and bless your families! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Waiting for Gracelyn's arrival...& celebrating Vince's new job!

Yesterday, 12/22/10, was Gracelyn's due date but she has yet to make her appearance. The day before that I had a doctor's appointment & all looked well! They even gave me a copy of some of her NST (non-stress test) strip for her scrapbook! :) She looked wonderful! The doctor stripped my membranes to try to get labor to maybe start (not working yet!). This morning I lost my mucous plug so I'm hoping to go into labor soon. It would be nice to have her tomorrow (the 24th) on Christmas Eve because my birthday is also the 24th (of January). :) I've been planning on how we will celebrate her birthday in years to come as well. I was thinking I would give her a big (expensive) present for her birthday, and give her lots of little presents for her half-birthday in the Summer since she'd be getting a bunch of Christmas presents already. This would help extend the celebration & allow her to have summer birthday parties (something I always wanted as a kid).
I am getting so excited to meet her, hold her, feed her, and kiss her! She seems laid back in there, so I'm hoping she's laid back when she comes out also & likes to sleep as much as I do/did as a kid. :) I already did a lot of "nesting" so most things are clean (except for filing & our computer room which is a mess!). We are excited to meet our little baby girl!
Yesterday (on my due date), Vince got accepted for a new job 15 minutes away at First Midwest Bank in Joliet! It is such an answer to prayer & we are thanking & praising God for providing this for us! This means Vince will be home more for Gracelyn (and me!) at either 4:30 or 5:30pm!!! It is such a blessing as he's never been able to be home that early before! He will no longer be commuting 4hrs a day to Chicago & it will be so nice to be able to finally spend evenings with him! The ironic thing is that Vince had lost his job back in April the day after we found out I was pregnant! It just goes to show you how much we need to trust and rely on God to meet our needs & that he ultimately knows what is best. This job he will be working at (starting January 18th) is even better & closer by than his Office Max job that he lost in April. :)
Looking back to that day (April 13th at 10:35pm) when I first had a positive pregnancy test, reminds me how quickly time flies. I can't believe it's already time for me to have this baby. I thought I was having a boy all along & was so surprised (Pleasantly surprised) to find out she was a girl. My mother-in-law also couldn't believe it since girls don't run in her family. It's amazing to think of how quickly these little babies grow in the womb & difficult for me to think of her grown up, married, and having kids of her own (which will happen quicker than I realize). I want to cherish the moments of her being young & teach her to follow the Lord.
Sylvia has been on nifedipine and bedrest to stop her preterm contractions. She is currently 35+1 weeks and will stop the medicine next week. We're hoping she'll make it to at least 36 weeks (or more!) for the best outcome for little Leanna Faith. :) Please continue to pray for her during this trying time as the medicine doesn't have pleasant side-effects. Praising the Lord for his constant goodness!

Week before Christmas