Rejoicing in the Lord

Last Wednesday (9/12) was a very emotional day in the life of our family.  We were mourning Brooks because it was the one year anniversary since my 4 month appointment where we found out that I had a miscarriage and lost him.  Providentially, my 4 month appointment for our new baby fell on the same day one year later.  Talk about facing your fears!  We were trying not to get too anxious that this appointment could go the same way.  We prayed that we would trust in the Lord and that we would be able to glorify God, regardless of the outcome of that appointment.

With lots and lots of tears of joy, I am happy to announce that this appointment went much differently than the last one!  We rejoice and praise the Lord that He is redeeming our sad memories with happy ones.  Our  baby's heartbeat was found quickly and he/she had a strong heartbeat of 153 beats per minute.  It was so emotional as we went through the same motions that we did last year that I just couldn't help but cry.  Cry as I thought of Brooks, cry as I thought of our new little baby that is squirming around and alive!  The doctor even asked me "What's wrong? Everything looks good!"  

One of the verses that I have been loving is Psalm 100:5 - "For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."  As we prepare for the next generation of McDaniels, we can't help but worship our Creator, knowing that His plans are always good, even if we don't understand them at the time.

We planned a visit with my parents that weekend in the hopes to celebrate with them after a good report.  I didn't realize how much I was waiting to get through that appointment before beginning to get excited about this little one!  It was fun to start planning things with my mom.  We watched the new movie "What To Expect When You're Expecting," we threw out ideas for our nursery, and we looked at baby stuff at Target & Once Upon A Child.  My mom plans to throw a baby shower for me in Jacksonville and we were able to start making a list of people to invite. 

Here we are looking at baby shower invitations.  We can't make a final decision on them until we know if our baby is a boy or a girl.  We will be finding this out on October 8!

We finished the day with eating at one of our favorite places in Savannah, Sweet Potatoes.  We had a great time and I think all four of us were able to relax and enjoy the weekend! :)

Quick Trip to Central Florida

Last weekend, my aunt and uncle planned a day trip to tube down the Ichetucknee River with my parents.  They also planned to surprise my parents by having Curtis and I show up!  

 Curtis and I traveled to Gainesville the day before so that we would have a shorter trip the next morning.  This was a blessing because Curtis and I were able to spend more time with the Fields!  Jeffrey, another good friend, was even able to join us for a little bit.  Pictured above, you can see Curtis and his buds praying over each other.

Meanwhile, everything was going smoothly for the surprise until my parents ended up canceling at the last minute.  By this time, we were in Gainesville and my aunt and uncle were in Ocala prepared to head to the Ichetucknee River the following morning. We ended up spilling the beans to my parents and we worked out a compromise so that we could at least see them after we went tubing.

The tubing was really relaxing - Curtis and I were able to float down the river talking with two of my uncles, an aunt and our sweet 4 year old cousin.  Afterwards, we met my parents at Sonny's for a late lunch.  Even though our plans were changed a little bit, our trip was a lot of fun.  Great memories were made! :)

Birthday Celebration with Friends

 So, the fun just kept on going right through the weekend.  We had 11 of my closest friends celebrate with me at Jalapeno's!  In the above picture, I'm wearing a lot of my birthday gifts - red shirt (Megan, Curtis' sister), cardigan (Curtis), bracelets (Megan), earrings, not really shown (parents), and shoes, not shown (Curtis).

 Here I am with Jen. :)

 Here's Curtis with Chris (Jen's husband).

 And here is the entire group! Miguel, Laura, Sarah, Curtis, Chris, Allen, Heather, Becca, Jen, Me, Amy, Jim.

 Miguel & Laura

 Amy & Jim

 Sarah acting like she has James with her. (We missed you James!)

 Allen & Heather

 Chris & Jen

 Becca with her "date" :)

 and us!  While we were there - all of the sudden the music changed and the waitresses came out with this HUGE pink sombrero for my birthday and a shot of tequila:

 It really caught me off guard!

 After I learned the appropriate way to take a tequila shot, I attempted!  But apparently, I still didn't take it the right way because I only took a sip of the shot, LOL.  It was too much for me!

We headed back to our house to play games and eat cake after dinner.  My sweet friend, Laura, baked me a chocolate chip cookie cake.  It was delicious!  I had a great birthday and I felt very loved by family and friends.