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! :)

We Will Miss You, Regis!

Regis was a great cat.  When I went to the shelter in 2001, Regis stuck his paw out at me.  It seemed like he was saying "Pick Me! Pick Me!"  In high school, I would always say that I didn't need a date because I already had someone who was always wearing a tux for me!  When I got married, my parents consistently came up with excuses as to why I couldn't take him with me to St. Louis or Savannah.  Regis is the one who inspired me to have my next cat look like him (Lion-O).

He ran out the door on April 1st and my parents haven't seen him yet.  We are pretty sure he has probably passed away because he wasn't in the best of health before he left.

So, here's a few pictures that I took with him back in 2006:

Kissing Regis

He loved nudging my head!  This is something that I wish Lion-O would do!

Lastly, here is a video that my parents have found that has helped them cope with their loss - the cat in this video looks so much like Regis.  It's hilarious!

We will miss you, Regis!

In Memory of Brooks

We wanted to have something that would remind us of our first son - John "Brooks" McDaniel.  So, I purchased blue cardstock and an 8x10 picture frame.  We put his name, his 9 week ultrasound, and one of our favorite verses on the cardstock. 

The verse that we chose is from the hymn "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go."  Here are the lines:

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain,

That morn shall tearless be.

If you would like to hear a sample of this song, click here.

Here is the final product: 

We put it on the wall along with all the other pictures in the Dining Room:

We are hoping that one day we will be able to put up more pictures of future children.