Goodbye Karthik, for now!

I know I've written before about how Jarod and I sponsor children through Compassion. Our boy from India, Karthik, has graduated from the program, and we no longer sponsor him. He is 18 now and finished his schooling. We are so very proud of him!! What a big accomplishment! When we got the letter from Compassion saying we were no longer sponsors for him, I have to admit I was so happy for him but also sad. I was sad b/c we have been communicating with him for 5 years and all of a sudden it was over. I wanted to tell him goodbye for now and tell him how proud we are of him.

Well today we received one final letter from him. What a precious letter it is! I was crying through the whole letter, so thankful to know this godly man on the other side of the world. Here is a sample of what he wrote:

"My family and me are very thankful and grateful for your love and care towards me in our poverty situation. God showered his love and mercy through you all and your support and love and care helped me to do my schooling. ......... Because of compassion and your sponsorship I tasted the love of God even though I am born into a Hindu background family. It's by the grace of God and through compassion...surely I will be a fruitful tree to God."

How could I ask for more? "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:20. I can't wait to meet Karthik someday and give him the biggest hug- whether that's on this side of eternity or in Heaven!

Fearfully and wonderfully made

You would think that being my 4th child, a sonogram wouldn't be a big deal. But yesterday it was a wonderful experience. Since I've been so sick there are times I have to honestly say that I don't feel excited for the pregnancy part- love the baby and so thankful but not excited as I feel like puking all the time. I know it's all b/c I feel rotten, and first trimester is always hard b/c you're getting bigger and feel sick and you can't feel the baby yet. So yesterday I went to the OB and they did another ultrasound since my first one was when the baby was so little. Let me say it was amazing to see how much it had grown in just 3 weeks! The baby was looking right at us and I could see it's arms moving! It is 2 cm big (about the size of a gummy bear) and it was just beautiful! It made all the sickness so worth it and it helped me to bond even more with this precious child! I could see it's head and face and arms and legs. So beautiful! I kept thinking of Psalm 139:14 "I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Thank you Lord for creating this child and giving me a peek into how special and wonderful it is!

This and that

* Morning sickness (rather, all day sickness) is no fun! I know it's a good sign and for a good reason, but I can't wait till I can enjoy eating again! I really love food, but right now I force myself to eat so I won't feel as sick. The baby must be growing strong with how yucky I feel. It's not too bad to handle, but this week has been hard. Jarod has been leading worship at camp, so he has been gone since Sunday. Fortunately he comes home tomorrow night, and I am so ready for him to be home. I have found cooking dinner really grosses me out- especially if it has hamburger in it. Friday I will be 8 weeks along, so only 6 more weeks till I should feel some relief :-)!

* I go to the doctor next Tuesday for my first OB visit. I'm supposed to have another ultrasound done to make sure all is still okay. I'm excited to see how much it's grown in 3 weeks.

* We've started talking about names for the baby. I'm having a really hard time finding a boy name that I love. I have a couple girl names, but boy names are hard for me. Any suggestions?

* Ethan went to day camp last weekend. He was so pumped and absolutely loved it! He got to go on the "blob" in the lake and get launched into the air. He got to swim in the pool and eat lunch there. They also played games and worked on some Bible verses. Buddy is already excited to go to camp next year. :-)

* I've been growing my hair out for locks of love. You have to have 10 inches to donate. I've got about 5 so far so hopefully by November we can chop it. My hair hasn't been this long in years!

* Next weekend we are going up to Emporia to visit Jarod's family. All of his family is going to be there (aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins). It's going to be a lot of fun. And I'm excited to see how big Mindy's belly has gotten! Have I told you how cute she is pregnant? I can't wait to meet Nate Jr!

A new bundle of joy!

Jarod and I are very excited to let everyone in our secret: we are pregnant! Yes this was planned- we wanted one more kiddo in our family! I am currently 7 weeks along and feeling really nauseous! I went to the doctor a week or so ago and got to see the heartbeat. At the time it was 3mm long with a strong heartbeat. It was beautiful!

Our due date is January 21, 2011, and now the process of gathering baby things, seeing as we have gotten rid of everything, has begun. Garage sale season has been good to us and helped to get some things we need. We are really excited for this new one!

The kids were fun to tell. We gathered them up for our prayer time before bed and Jarod told them we had some news for them. He told them Mommy has a baby in her belly and that we are having a baby. Sean smiled and said he was excited. Ethan laughed then said "that's weird!" and Kaitlyn smiled and said she was happy. Kaitlyn asked me yesterday if I could tell the baby to be a girl. :-) Sean is my protector and while Ethan was telling me some gross story the other day, told him to stop b/c Mommy's going to be sick! :-)The kids are super happy and ask about the baby a lot.

So that's our news!Surprise! hee hee!