HELLOOOOO 2nd Trimester!!!!!

Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!  Baby Randazzler and I are officially in our second trimester - officially 14 weeks TODAY!!!!  HALLELUJAH!  I can't begin to express what a relief reaching this point is!  I know we still have a LOOONG ways to go (182 days to be exact), but reaching this milestone is something to be celebrated in my humble opinion!  I was reminded to be thankful with my morning devotion which was I Samuel 1:27-28..."I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.”  Thank God for Hannah...I've spent a lot of time reading her words over the past couple of years and sometimes I swear that her purpose in life was to be a source of inspiration to me thousands of years later :)

I know that I have all but disappeared over the last 3 months in the blogosphere and that is due to a number of reasons...1) killer morning/all day sickness, 2) craziness at work, 3) mostly due to fear and anxiety.  I never would have imagined that the first 3 months of pregnancy would be as SCARY as they are.  It feels so amazing to be blessed with such a miracle but SO SCARY to know that in the blink of an eye it can disappear and for no apparent reason.  It was definitely a difficult exercise in patience and trust for me, the control freak who likes to think that somehow I am directly responsible for the outcome of all situations.  I'd be praising God and thankful one minute and then questioning "Why is this working out for me?  I don't deserve this anymore than anyone else I know who is struggling, probably deserve is LESS if I'm being perfectly honest" the next.  I have so many friends who have not been so fortunate and I do not and never will understand why things work out for some and not for others.  I constantly remind myself that it is HIS will, not mine that will be done and that's what I pray for...even if it produces a result that I'm not happy with at the time.

Anyway, all that aside - I am ETERNALLY grateful for where we are now, TODAY!  We're now starting to explore daycares vs. nannies vs. "granny care" (yeah - uh Mom and Dad, need to talk to you guys about that :) ), cleaning out the soon to be baby suite as I call it, will probably be ordering furniture soon, and planning our GENDER REVEAL PARTY!!!  Some say they're cheesey - but I am committed to celebrating every little milestone, so YES, we WILL be having a Gender Reveal Party late February after our anatomy scan (which is scheduled for VALENTINE'S DAY - but the party will be a week or two after that)!!!!!  I can't wait to be surprised along with my family and some of our closest friends by finding out if Baby Randazzler is a boy or girl!   This is a NO PRESENTS party - just a celebration and us sharing something VERY special with those nearest to us. 

Speaking of gender - people ask all the time if I have a feeling one way or the other.  Well, initially I was thinking BOY - mostly because of wives tales I'd heard, on the rare occassion that I was hungry, I could/would only eat insanely spicy foods - loved tacos and could drink salsa by the gallon if you'd let me.  Then about a month ago I realized that I had subconsciously started calling baby "her" in my prayers or in my head when I'd be thinking about things.  Then after my dr's appt on Monday I bounced back to BOY - so to answer your question...I don't know!!!!  Honestly just praying for HEALTHY - please God let this baby be perfectly healthy!  I know that's a lot to ask and I have had a laundry list of requests that have graciously been granted over my 34 years on earth, but this is probably the most important and fervent prayer I've ever prayed. 

So thanks again for all the prayers and support over the past several months of my public journey.  I'm eternally grateful and know that God heard every prayer.  And every message, comment and email I received seriously helped to raise my spirits and help me to stay positive.  Blessings to you all!