Well, we've come to a season of our lives where we are ready to begin a blog! Seems like our first 5 years of marriage have flown by so quickly...and now I have some time in my schedule to begin a blog....so here it goes! =)God made it very clear that He wanted me to take a leave of absence this year so....that is why I now have what is called "free time." I don't think I ever had much of that during the 5 years I was teaching!!
God has been so good to us these past 5 years. We can look back and see His providential hand guiding us through life. He led us to Pensacola where I began teaching.....and have loved every minute of it.....He led Jeremy to Olive Baptist where we have had the privilege to lead the middle school and high school students. Oh....so many memories the past 5 years from our little one bedroom apartment....buying our new little home in Pace....training for marathons and triathlons...meeting new friends...taking various fun trips.....making family memories...experiencing new adventures together and the list goes on.
Well.....this past year has had some awesome and incredible moments....but has also been the most challenging year that Jer and I have had to walk through together. In June of 2008, we found out we were pregnant with our very first baby!! We were surprised and filled with excitement! I remember going to our first appointment and seeing the little baby on the screen with a strong little heartbeat! We began to plan how we would surprise our families with the news! Of course, they all cried tears of joy when they found out they were expecting their first grandchild! So....for the next 5 weeks....I learned all about the first trimester and all about the process of "growing a baby!" We went in for our 10 week appointment.....super excited to see the growth of our little one! I remember we had to wait for almost 2 hours in that waiting room! Well, eventually we got in and they did the ultrasound......which resulted in the most painful day of my life. I remember seeing my little baby on that screen - tiny arm buds, little legs and a little head bowed downward. But......shortly after seeing that little image...I remember my doctor putting her hand on me and telling me, "I don't have good news." My stomach immediately sank.....I could feel my heart in my tummy as tears began flowing down my cheeks. She left Jeremy and I alone to take in the news together. Our baby did not make it......which took us down a path we had never walked before. We cried together, prayed together, sat in quiet together, questioned why together.....but most importantly we experienced a peace amidst the pain that we had never quite experienced. We knew our Lord Jesus was the only one who could offer us peace to endure the pain.....faith to move forward and hope for another baby one day.
Well, just a couple months later......we found out we were pregnant once again!! Oh.....I remember jumping up and down with excitement! I knew this was it.....God had brought us through the miscarriage and was now going to bless us with a healthy pregnancy and baby! We quickly shared the news with our family and everyone was praying for this new life. The doctors wanted to see me soon.....so in we went! Well, from the beginning - the doctor did not see what she wanted to see. There was no distinguishable baby growing....there were not signs of a healthy progressing pregnancy. I remember us asking questions......not again??.....would we have to face loss again??? Well, Dec. 31, 2008.....we lost our 2nd baby. This began another journey that we had never experienced. We dealt more with anger.....hurt...confusion and deep heartache this time. Why would God allow this to happen twice? Would we ever have a healthy pregnancy and baby? Will the hurt and pain ever go away? I remember one afternoon....sitting in my 1st grade classroom where all the walls were beautifully decorated for Christmas. We had made all our little Christmas crafts together to celebrate, hung our long red and white construction paper Christmas chain and written stories about why Christmas is such a special time......yet in my heart nothing seemed so special this year. I was hurting......and I began to cry. I grabbed my things and went home where Jeremy met me. I told him that I knew God loved me.....I knew He was in control and I wanted to praise Him. It had always been so easy for me to praise Him.....but it seemed impossible now. I asked Jeremy to take me to the beach. I knew that the beach always reminded me of the greatness of my God. So, we ventured out to the beach.......I remember sitting for hours...watching the sunset, looking at the expanse of the water and sky, listening tot he waves, burying my toes in the sand and slowly watching the stars appear on that clear dark sky. As we sat there......the Lord revealed His glory to me.....all creation worshipped Him....all creation brought Him glory that night. The moon....the stars.....the waves....they all praised Him. He was the creator of everything.....He puts everything into orbit....He holds the world in His hands....He counts the grains of sand......and He brings peace. This experience served as a reminder to Jeremy and me that no matter how chaotic or out of control the events in our lives may seem.......HE is holding it together in His hands. He has a plan......a purpose for everything that happens in our lives. Nothing happens by accident. And oh, how I praise Him for being my sovereign, providential, loving Father.
Jeremy and I began to pray every day for peace, faith and hope as we continued down life's journey. The doctors began running countless tests on me......and through each day God began to open doors for me to share our experiences with others. It amazed me how even through our suffering and pain we were able to bring hope to others walking though difficult circumstances. We felt God prompting us to share our story with our high school students one Wednesday night......and so we obediently did just that praying that God would use our story to encourage them that our God is in control and gives us all we need to face life's most difficult challenges.
The day after we shared with the students, my doctor called and told me that they found a genetic blood clotting disorder....which they believed was the cause of my 2 miscarriages. So.....they diagnosed me with PAI-1 and MTHFR. I began taking a baby aspirin every day along with extra B6, B12 and Folic Acid. Jeremy and I had been praying that they would find an easy fix for our losses......and this prayer was now answered!
We spent our spring and summer busy...busy! I stayed busy teaching my little 1st graders....which God used each and every day to bring joy to me. Their precious smiles.....loving hugs.....innocent little faces each day were truly a blessing. It was during the last few months of the school year that the Lord made it very clear to me that He wanted me to take a leave of absence this year from teaching. So........that is what we decided would be best! Take a year to rest......and allow my body to completely heal from the losses.
Our summer was of course very busy!! I think I counted that we were only home 4 days in July!
We had camp, youth trips and our mission trip to Illinois. The summer could not have been more perfect. I was able to go on every high school trip.......build relationships with the students and serve the Lord on the mission trip along side Jeremy. Well, the day after we returned from our exhausting and physically grueling mission.......I found out I was pregnant again!!!!! YAY!!! God's timing was once again so perfect!! I was able to enjoy the entire summer with Jeremy.....our high school students.....family trips........and begin what would have been my "school year" growing a new little baby! So....that brings us to this new pregnancy.....
Here's my most recent baby bump picture! I'm right at 23 weeks here. =) I'm just now starting to wear my maternity shirts......even those most of them are still a little too big! I have plenty of my normal shirts that still fit me....so that's usually what I wear. The question I receive most these days is...."so how far along are you now?" and I say...."oh, 23 weeks....almost 6 months pregnant!" and they say..."really.....I mean you are hardly even showing".....and then I say, "yep! I'm definitely 23 weeks pregnant!"
Above: Our little girl's profile...look at her cute little nose and little bitty lips =)
Overall, I'm beginning to feel a little better every day. I have lengthened my morning walks to 1 hour......and I look forward to it each day! It's become such a sweet time for me to spend praying for my little girl! I've definitely been able to venture out a little more through out the day too! I just have to make sure that I always have my peanut butter crackers with me.....it is not a good situation if my tummy gets empty!! I'm still carrying around my little wal-mart bag....otherwise know as my "throw-up bag" just in case I get sick......but I haven't had to use it in a few weeks!! YAY! We will go to the doctor next week for my big 20 week ultrasound! We are praying that everything is continuing to grow and develop into a healthy pregnancy! 
Me, Brit and Linz on the porch of our beach condo.....
All of us together right before Daddy headed to the gulf for his 2.4 mile swim...Linz made us all shirts to wear......sisters wore "Go Daddy Go"....mamma wore "Go Hubby Go" and husbands wore "Go Pappa Boyd Go"....the bottom of the shirts said "Champion Family" (because when I was a little girl and my daddy did really well in a race...I said, "Dad, we are the champion family!"....so it's stayed with us!!) the back of the shirts had the verse from Hebrews 12...."Let us run the race with perseverance.....let us fix our eyes on Jesus."
GO DADDY GO!!! He did amazing! After 11 hours of racing....he even finished with a strong sprint!!! We were all so proud of him......even my baby girl was wigglin' around all day for him as she cheered him on! =)
So, these little purchases will always be remembered as the first little gifts for our baby girl!
Above: A full body shot of our little girl! You can see her head was down during this picture.
This picture is kinda hard to see. But the little head is up on the right and the legs are crossed at the bottom left! =) The baby was moving all around and measured just a little ahead of scheduled! The heartbeat was beating strong! =) The baby is the size of a softball and now weighs 1.75 oz! Tiny little thing! 
Jeremy's parents came to visit us and Pappa Chip took this pic of my growin' baby belly! We are planning on taking pics every 4 weeks now!! I feel huge here.....but I'm still wearing my normal clothes! I have a few maternity things in my closet.....so that I'll have something to wear the day that my normal clothes just don't fit anymore! We continue to pray that this little bump will grow each day! =)
We went to see our high risk doctor today for the third time and everthing looked very heathy!! The baby is measuring a little ahead of schedule....but that's all normal and just a good sign at this point! The heart rate was 157.....beating strong! =) The baby is the size of a peach now. We saw the baby moving all around. They examined the baby's brain, skeletal system, fluids and as much of the anatomy as possible! I love the picture of the little feet......and the hand! Once again...those little fingers look so long to me.....maybe they will be like his/her daddy!? The baby was so precious......he/she was laying down and then would skoot his/her little legs up real high and then fall down and do it all again! When I would lean to one side....the baby would move more....then go back to just crossing his/her little legs. The little arms stayed up by his/her head most of the time just moving all around! 
Here's our growing baby!! The little arms and legs are long and thin now! You can see the little fingers and toes! Look at those long fingers......I think this baby is going to have longer slinder fingers like Jer! =) So maybe this baby will be a piano player like me.....or a guitar player like his/her daddy? =) 
Look at our precious baby!! The little head.....arms and legs! I love looking at the little knee joints and the little feet! The baby is the size of a large lime! Today, the baby didn't move a whole lot for us. He/She was kickin' his/her legs when we started the ultrasound.....but then stopped! I think he/she wanted to rest and wanted us to leave her/him alone! =) Everything looked healthy......strong little heartbeat! 
Our little baby was waving to us this week!! We saw him/her kicking his/her little legs and moving his/her arms all around!! Then, he/she waved to us! =) Our baby is the size of a small plum this week! Well......this was the week that I began to get sick to my stomach! Umm....and whoever said that during the first trimester you may experience "morning sickness"....no, no, no.....mine lasted ALL day long! Even though it's miserable being tired and super nauseated....every day I woke up still feeling "pregnant" I did get excited because I knew that little baby was still growing! My body just might need a little extra time to adjust and get used to growin' a baby! =) At this point, I knew in my heart I would endure anything in order to have a healthy pregnancy and baby....even if that meant being sick all day every day! Every time we get to see the baby on the ultrasound.....kicking...waving or just resting.....it gives me an extra boost of energy to make it through another week!.....no matter how sick this baby would make me! =)
Look at the little "frog leg!" We saw the little legs just a kicking! So precious. =) The arms were moving just a little bit.....but our baby sure was kickin' those little legs! Our baby was now the size of a medium green olive! Still tiny......but has arms, legs, fingers, toes......just growing longer each week! I also began having really bad headaches....which when I described them to my doctor he said they were migraines!! So, I've tried to rest, drink lots and pray lots that they don't get worse! I began going for a walk most evenings of the week when it would cool off. Even if I had been sick all day long......I started getting a little better in the evenings.....so I would grab my water bottle and head out for a few laps around the neighborhood.
Our growing little teddy graham! The heartbeat looked good once again! Yay! Our little baby was the size of a Pinto Bean. =)
Here is the baby measuring 6 weeks and 6 days! We thought it looked like a little Teddy Graham cracker! =) Just little arm buds and little leg buds beginning to develop. Everything still looks like a healthy progressing pregnancy. I definitely had to stop running in the mornings....I just couldn't catch my breath! Amazing how something so tiny could already be slowing me down so much! This is definitely the point where the fatigue.....nausea and just plain feeling "sick" ALL day kicked in! Whew! I pretty much had to lay down all day long! One of my friends loaned me season 1 of Gilmore Girls.......and I began watching them....Season 2....Season 3....=) My days pretty much consisted of sleeping, eating (to try and take the nausea away) and.....sleeping and eating. Pretty much this precious little baby that was growing inside of me put my body into shock and I hit a wall! Jeremy began doing all the little "house" duties....cooking...cleaning....grocery shopping.....laundry! I am soooo blessed to have him as my husband. I remember he would come home from work and I would be in the same PJ's in the same position on the couch!! He would do anything he could just to me me feel more comfortable.....we were in this together!!
This was right at 6 weeks. Our little baby is the image at the vary bottom where you see two little "x" marks. They are measuring from crown to rump.....even though we still couldn't tell which end is the head and which is the bottom. =) The heartbeat looked strong....my uterus and everything surrounding the baby looked to be developing into a healthy pregnancy! Yay!!
This was the very first picture we got of our new little baby! Our baby was 5 weeks and 5 days....so just barely pregnant! We got to see the little heart beating.....163 beats per minute. I was still feeling pretty normal.....just a little more tired than usual. I was still running a few miles each morning. =)
