It's a Girl!

We found out on October 8th that we will be having a little girl!  We were happy to hear that she is doing just fine and is healthy.  Praise the Lord!

I love that she looks like a little chicken wing!  I've started to feel her move and kick now, so I'm sure it's because of these awkward positions that she likes to lay in.  It took 30 minutes for the ultrasound tech to figure out if it was a girl or a boy because she was curled up in a little ball sitting Indian-style.  Haha!

Let the celebrating begin...

We had a sweet couple from our small group bring over this chocolate chip cookie cake, balloon and sparkling cider to celebrate!  Thanks for sharing in our joy with us, Laura and Miguel.

Curtis and I went to our new Kohl's store to get our baby girl's very first outfit.  Here's the outfit we decided on:

It says "Daddy's Princess" and it has a little cat on it with little leopard pants to go with it. :)

Coming in February 2013

Yes, it is true!  God has answered our prayers and we are excited to announce that we will be having a baby next year.  We praise the Lord for his faithfulness to us.  What a blessing!

Ironically, I found out that I was pregnant exactly one year later to the day that I found out that I was pregnant with Brooks.  My due date is February 27; Brooks' due date was February 23.  The challenging part is not to fear that we will lose this one also.  I am going through each month just as far along as I was with Brooks, which makes me worried about the month of September since that is when we lost him.  When I begin to fear, I am trying to spend time in prayer knowing that the Lord is in control.  Curtis and I believe that God is redeeming all the sad dates from our loss with happy ones from this new baby.  Please pray with us that our baby would be healthy.  We look forward to finally having an earthly child!

 12 Week Appointment

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.

Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right

Last Wednesday, Curtis and I went to our third OB appointment to check on Baby McD.  Thinking that I had now surpassed the first trimester, I found myself more calm about this appointment than I had been at the previous two.  When they searched for the baby's heartbeat with the doppler device, I was told that she was not able to find a consistent heartbeat and she would have another woman come to check.  I tried to think positively during the 30-minute waiting period, but we couldn't help but start to think that perhaps something was wrong.  One of the RUF hymns that Curtis and I sang often in college - "Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right" came to mind during this time:

1. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Holy His will abideth.
I will be still whate’er He does,
And follow where He guideth.
He is my God,
Though dark my road.
He holds me that I shall not fall
Wherefore to Him I leave it all

2. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
He never will deceive me
He leads me by the proper path,
I know He will not leave me
I take, content,
What He hath sent
His hand can turn my griefs away
And patiently I wait His day

3. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Though now this cup in drinking
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it all unshrinking
My God is true,
Each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart
And pain and sorrow shall depart

4. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Here shall my stand be taken
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken
My Father’s care
Is round me there
He holds me that I shall not fall
And so to Him I leave it all

If you wanted to hear a portion of this song (verses 1 & 4), you can find here.  I knew that whatever happened, God was still in control.  If there was a problem, we would walk through this trial knowing that the Lord would carry us through it.  The Lord has always been faithful in various trials that Curtis and I have both gone through individually and as a couple, so we had that confidence.

Unfortunately, we found that the baby had passed away when they performed an impromptu-ultrasound.  I had to have surgery (D&C) to remove the baby's remains on Friday.

It has been a very hard week as we have had to come to grips with the reality that we will not be having a baby in February.  We didn't realize that we could love someone that we've never met as much as we loved this baby!  We prayed often that this baby would never know a day without the Lord, so we hope that one day we will get to meet him or her when we arrive in heaven.  At this time, we are in need of prayer as we mourn the loss of our little one.