The Big Announcement!!!

Well.....almost all of you who read this (if not all) already know this.....buuuut, for those of you who don't.........Linnea is going to be a big sister! :) That's right! There is a precious baby growing inside of me, and we are so very excited! I should have posted this announcement long ago, as I will already be 12 weeks along tomorrow, but time has flown and i just finally went to see the doctor yestserday! I know...crazy! And probably not as smart as I could have been. :/

Nonetheless, it feels even more real and wonderful now that we have heard the heartbeat and seen our baby, and everything looks great! Aaron and I are so thankful for the life God is forming, and don't for one day want to take it for granted that He has blessed us with not only one, but two children! I'm speaking of Linnea, of course...we are not having twins! :)

I am reminding myself everyday through the nausea and fatigue that this IS indeed a blessing, and now that I have been through this once before, I know that it is definitely worth it. So, lets just say that I am smiling much more during this yucky stage than I did with Linnea. And that is all because of the Lord's good grace and His Word which is sustaining me and giving me joy in the midst of this trial.

The Lord has also decided that I learn to be unselfish and share my birthday "time" with my two children....as this one is due August 12....4 days before my birthday, and 6 before Linnea's. It may be a money-breaker month, but at least family can combine three cards or packages in one! Haha...and that makes it easy for Aaron to remember our birthdays!

Here are some pictures of our little peanut! Enjoy!

Linnea's Own Chair :)

Well...Linnea just wanted to say thank you to all of her grandparents and great-grandparents for your gifts of Christmas money for her. And we wanted to show you all what we used some of it for.... Her very own IKEA chair....and she is officially in love! We had an idea we wanted to get her a chair, but just had not found the "right" one for a good price, until Aaron came across this one!

Our daughter will now of her own free will take books to her chair and read by herself for a good 15-20 minutes....like 3 different times a day. :) So, everyone is happy! Thank you for your generosity and for blessing our family!!

Backdating

Just so you know, as some of you may be confused ;) I have been backdating posts...trying to catch up in order. So I have put the dates closer to when the events actually happened (for my own sake, really). That is why you may have been here a week ago, and are wondering why you didn't see these posts before. Well, that's why! :)

Love and Marriage

I have to say, I pretty much love going to weddings. Seeing two people united as one in Christ, starting their journey of serving Him together is such an amazing thing to witness, and a sweet reminder of the purpose of my own marriage, as well as the commitment I made to Aaron on our own wedding day.

Hearing the vows of newlyweds reminds me of my own vows to Aaron, and how I have failed those promises time and again. It's in the little ways that I have failed...promising to love and respect him no matter what comes our way, promising to submit to him in all things. I often think I am a great submitter, but then I look at my heart in a situation, or asses my thoughts, and I realize that submission is not as easy as it seams! The Lord sees me heart, and knows my thoughts...he sees my inner man, which is who I really am!

It is when I have taken my eyes off of Christ that loving and respecting my husband is hardest. That is because putting my eyes on our sovereign Savior and trusting in His perfect plan is the only way I can totally submit to and respect my husband in all things. Because I know that Christ is working out his perfect plan in my husband, and will accomplish all that He desires through Him.

So, Christ has called me to have His selfless love for my husband through all things, and there is nothing like going to a beautiful Christian wedding to remind of that! BUT even more special is to have my own husband giving his first "marriage message" as he officiated his first wedding. And he did a wonderful job! :) He is a natural when it comes to speaking in front of people, and has such a passion for the things of the Lord! You would think that those two things put together would make him a great preacher, but I have yet to convince him of that. :)

Anyways, back to weddings!! Aaron officiated the wedding of our dear friends, Jared and Jenny Kline, on New Year's Eve, and it was a blast to see them get married after doing premarital counseling with them for the past several months!
And then the very next weekend we headed up to Sacramento for the long awaited wedding of my best friend from highschool! This wedding was a very special one for me, as I sort of helped instigate the relationship back in high school, and have been waiting for this day for years...5 to be exact!!! If you think is a long to time date, they were engaged for 2 years!! I don't think I would recommend it, as 6 months seemed too long to me :). But they did it! The Lord kept them together and growing while Chris went to the academy and graduated a CHP officer, while Desiree finished school WITH her teacching credential...all in 3 1/2 years!

So.... the big day finally arrived and I was SO excited for them, I think I was practically jumping up and down all day. :) The Lord has seen them through so many things these past five years, and I couldn't be more proud of them for all the things they have accomplished with the Lord's ever-present help and strength. Their wedding was beautiful, and it was such a privilege to be a part of it, and celebrate their marriage....FINALLY!! :P

Desiree and Chris...thanks for being such sweet friends...friends who love the Lord as much as I do and were there to encourage me through highschool (whether you knew it or not!) May your marriage be founded on our Solid Rock and stand firm! And may it be so sweet and wonderful, filled with many precious moments! Love you both!

Fun on the Playground

Now that Linnea is a pro at walking, we like to take lots of walks, and especially go to the park and down the slides! She loves going down the slide (with a little help, of course :)), and even started climbing up a ladder the other day, by herself! I had to run to help her before she fell down. Yikes! I think almost all of her "getting hurt" incidents have been from climbing something and falling down or having that "something" fall on top of her. But even so, she has absolutely no fear!


After going down the slide a few times, she likes to take a break and walk around as much as she can. The other day, she walked our whole complex in search of her cousin, Hannah, who lives at the other end of our condos. Sad to say, she was not home, or mommy and her were napping...Linnea was not too happy and kept knocking and yelling Hannah's name.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

On January 2nd, Santa Clarita was blessed with a late Christmas present....SNOW!!! It was amazing! If Aaron and I had TV or actually checked the internet, I'm sure we could tell you how long it has been since it has snowed here (and stuck to the ground and accumulated a few inches in some places), but alas, we are out of touch with reality, so I have no idea.

Anyways, the snow brought huge smiles to my face, as I LOVE snow, and Linnea enjoyed it too! Here are some pictures!