This past week my sister, Courtney, came to Texas for the week. We are so glad she decided to spend her spring break with us!! She came to work with me everyday and helped out with the kiddos, who absolutely loved her. We made some good food, went downtown with friends for dinner and ice cream, went out for coffee, went to the Texas Rangers vs. Cleveland Indians baseball game, got Pedicures (well, except for Wesley :)), and did lots of shopping!! She got to experience Texas wind and the smell/smokiness of a large grass fire nearby.

I am so thankful for my sister. She is such a godly woman and I could not be more proud of her!! It was nice to have family here in Texas with us and I'm sad the week went by so quickly!

Olivia Jane Croft

It's a girl!! I had a feeling it was a girl but I didn't want to say in case I was wrong :). The sonographer kept us in suspense as she checked out all of the organs and measurements and then the last thing she did was tell us the gender. She is measuring right on track and everything else looked great!! Here are some pictures of Olivia:
Side view -- you can see her head, heart, spine, bottom and legs

Profile --she was moving around a ton so it was hard for the sonographer to get a good one

Her little foot --this is Wesley's favorite picture


One more exciting thing I wanted to tell is that my mom got me the car seat and stroller travel system that I wanted. Thank you Mom!!!

Boy or Girl?

This week, 4 days to be exact :), we will find out if this little baby growing inside of me is a boy or a girl! I can not express how excited I am for this day to come. I remember when we found out we were pregnant it seemed like this day was so far away and now it is almost here! I'm thinking the next 21 weeks or so will go by just as quickly and we will be able to hold our little one in our arms.

I am officially needing to wear maternity pants now. These past two weeks my belly has really grown and even my "big" jeans will not button. This is so exciting, although my wardrobe is so much smaller now! I'm thankful to have a wonderful mom who took me shopping for maternity clothes while I was in Augusta, GA over springbreak. She spent way too much on me :). I'm also thankful for friends, Courtney and Tera, who have been so kind to let me borrow some of their maternity clothes!

Other pregnancy updates:

How far along? 19 weeks

Weight gain? 3 lbs

Fetal Movement? I feel it every day now and especially at night. Wesley got to feel the baby kick this week...so exciting!

Any baby showers planned yet? Shelley and Katelyn are throwing me a shower with all the girls from the college ministry at the church Wesley and I attend. I can't wait for April 26th!!

I will let you know Thursday, April 2 if it's a boy or a girl! Yay!!

BeachReach update

Please forgive me for not updating the blog before now with BeachReach info. I've been sick with the flu, and haven't really felt up to writing what I would consider to be a full update. Enough of that though...

To God be the glory for all the people that gave their hearts to Christ while we were there. From our group, we saw four people led to the Lord, but from the group overall, we saw 27 people ushered into the Kingdom!! I can't tell you how blessed we were to see this many people come to Christ through this ministry...it was truly remarkable to see God's power as lives were changed for eternity. On a personal note, it was truly humbling to see the two guys that I mentor lead 3 people to the Lord while we were there. I hope that they feel as blessed as I do when I look at them and see how much they've grown.

Now that I'm looking back on my week in Panama City Beach, I'm seeing God's power more and more. If you'll remember from my last post, I was a little nervous as to how everything would be with this being my first time leading a group like this. I was amazed at how God provided me strength and insight at every turn during the trip. While there are some things in hindsight I think I would do differently, overall the Lord really helped solidify His calling in my life through this trip. I know now more than ever that I'm called to minister to this age demographic. I'm grateful for His leading me in that regard.

Small, yet off topic note to end this post: I got to feel the baby kick for the first time the other nite...WOW!!

BeachReach happenings...

Well, the eve of leaving for BeachReach has finally arrived. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, you can find out more about it here. Essentially, we'll be giving rides for college students at night who need to get from bar to bar. We'll take the time they're in the van to share the gospel with them. There is also a free pancake breakfast each morning for whoever wants to come. These are all great opportunities to share the love of God with Spring Breakers who are most likely hurting.

Please pray that we can be bold in our sharing of Christ with them. Also, pray for the people we will be sharing with, as our Lord already knows who we will be encountering. Pray that He will soften their hearts to the message of Christ's love. Lastly, pray for me as this is my first time leading a group of college students anywhere. It will be good experience, but I'm a little nervous.

I will be sure to provide an update on how it went when I get back. I may try and update this blog while I'm there. Thank you for your prayers.

So I decided I should post a quick pregnancy update!

When is your due date? August 22

How far along are you? 16 weeks 4 days

Team blue, pink or green? Green for now but we should find out April 2nd if we're having a boy or a girl!

How much weight have you gained? None as of my last checkup (13 weeks 5 days) but I'm pretty sure in the last couple weeks I've gained a few :)

Biggest pregnancy complaint/discomfort? I had pretty much all day sickness during the first trimester and was very tired, but now that I am in the second trimester the nausea has gone away and I have a lot more energy. I'm starting to get winded and hot so much easier. I will also say that having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom can be quite annoying :)

Feeling any fetal movement yet? Before today I would have to say no but I am pretty sure I felt the little one this morning when I first woke up!

Next doctor's appointment? We will have our routine monthly checkup on March 24th and then on April 2nd we will have another sonogram and hopefully find out the gender of our baby.

Cravings? Pizza, hot and sour soup, and Mcdonald's chocolate dipped cone (not together though)...I'm really trying to have a healthy diet, but once in a while I indulge :)

Maternity clothes yet? I have a few pants that I can no longer wear and I can tell I'm going to have to move to maternity pants in the next few weeks. Shirts will be a while longer I think.

I'll leave you with pictures from our first sonogram at 9 weeks...

And a picture of my growing belly taken at 15 weeks...

Wesley and I have decided to start a blog to keep our family and friends updated on everything going on in our lives at this exciting time. We are expecting our first little one in August and can not wait to experience the joy of being parents!! On top of preparing for the new addition to our family we are preparing for a likely move as Wesley is graduating from seminary in May and Lord-willing moving into a full-time ministry position sometime over the summer. We are excited to see what the Lord has planned for us in this next stage of life!

With all of these changes coming we are constantly reminding ourselves that God is sovereign and in control of all the details. We know and trust in the fact that as long as we are walking in obedience to Him, He will guide and direct us exactly where He wants us to be. We are trusting Him to open and close the doors for job opportunities and to make things clear for us. We are trusting that the timing with the arrival of the baby, the move, and finding a new home will all work out as well. We serve an amazing God and we know that whatever happens it will all work out in a way that glorifies Him most!!

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:28-31