For the second time this week I am up with pain in my back. It is 5:02am and I have been up since 1 o'clock. After trying so many different things to get relief I finally opened Josh's computer to listen to music to help me fall asleep, and I came across this song that I had found a few weeks back. As I sit here with my baby girl next to my bed listening to this song I can't help but focus on her and begin to wonder why God has blessed me with one of the most precious gifts He gives. Sometimes I feel so unworthy for God to entrust something so precious to me. As I sit here and watch her sleep I wonder what she will be like as she grows up. Will she go through heartbreak? What sports will she play? What will she be when she grows up? What will her likes and dislikes be? Then I begin to start to worry about what she will face as a teenager. Oh I can't imagine what this world will be like! What temptations will she face? The types of peer pressure she will endure. Will her faith and relationship with God be strong enough to withstand the temptations and trials she will go through? And then I listen to this song again and it comforts me knowing God will be with her through every stage of her life. Even as a two month old He watches over her. Despite the pain I am in, I am comforted by the thoughts and prayer in this song. I wanted to share this with all the other mothers that may worry about the same things I do. I hope this is an encouragement.


Note: I encourage you not to watch the video as you listen to the song. Rather read the lyrics as you listen. Enjoy...

A Mother's Prayer

by Rachel Aldous

My sweet baby on loan from above.
No better treasure could I more love.
I stand here beside your bed as I pray
I lay my hand on your head and I say:

May you grow up to serve Him
all of your days.
May He lead you and guide you
in all of your ways.
May His hand bless your future with
friendships that last.
May you cherish your youth
and not grow up too fast

I stare in wonder at your tiny frame.
Just to think that God knows you by name.
He knows every hair on your beautiful head.
He knows all your thoughts before they are said.

May you grow up to serve Him
all of your days
May He lead you and guide you
in all of your ways.
May His Hand bless your future with
friendships that last.
May you cherish your youth
and not grow up too fast.

Prayer:
May God grant you peace
in the midst of a storm.
May God give you strength even
when you’re forlorn.
May you answer the door when
Jesus comes knocking.
May wisdom guide you when
your mouth is talking.
May discretion protect you
and keep you pure.
May you never stumble
or fall for a lure.
May your heart remain humble
to the very end.
May uprightness and truth
be what you defend.
May the world not ensnare
or change who you are.
May the light that's within you
shine like the stars.
May angels surround you
body, spirit, mind.
May favor and peace be yours to find.
May rejection and pain
never reach you.
May your spirit grow bold for what you’re called to.

As you rest in God’s care I will rest, too.
Knowing that Jesus is watching over you.
Amen
 

2 months already?!

         
This past Friday Lynlee turned two months old . It feels just like yesterday we brought this beautiful little girl home and I was filled with excitement and fear all at the same time. These last two months have been tiring but so rewarding. I find myself so often with a long list of things to do not taking the time to just sit and relax enjoying her during the day. Making this video of highlights from her first two months I realized how much she has changed and how much time flies by. Oh how I want to treasure every moment I have with her because I won't get these moments back. I Hope you enjoy some of my favorite moments from these past two months.

         

          Lynlee's first summer was jammed packed full of traveling, meeting family, and fun in the sun. We spent the first week of vacation in Jacksonville, FL visiting her cousins on the Denton side. While we were there, she got to meet her Uncle Kelly, Uncle Tim, Aunt Jen and cousins Alivia, Reece, and Levi for the first time. She also got to celebrate PaPa's 60th birthday with a surprise birthday party that us kids threw for him. The next week we brought Aunt Katy home with us and she joined Lynlee and I on the "Grove Jr High Beach Trip."  We spent the frst part of the week down at Myrtle Beach with the teenagers who spoiled Lynlee rotten! She loved it! The second half of the week Lynlee tagged along with me and Josh on a staff retreat down in Myrtle. Lynlee got to put her feet in the ocean for the first time. She was not impressed (as you can see in the picture below)! She would  rather sleep in her tent! I don't think she realized it wasn't a nude beach :)  She napped in just her diaper. 

          We then spent the next week with Josh's family on Fripp Island, South Carolina! She did a lot of first here. She rode her first golf cart, fed her first deer, swam in a pool for the first time and caught her first hermit crab. We had a blast! This was one of the most relaxing vacations I have ever had! I recommend this island for anyone with kids! It is laid back and full of plenty of things to do for both adults and kids. 

         When we got home from Fripp Island Josh and I had  a Grove leaders camping trip planned in Asheboro so Lynlee got to stay overnight with her Gran and Grandaddy all by herself. Gran said she was an angel!! 

         On June 19,2011 God brought Lynlee Jewel Evans into our world on Fathers Day! I cannot even begin to put into words how this life changing experience impacted my life. I used to tell people "I wish I could relive my wedding day over and over again." Well now I tell them "I wish I could live Lynlee's birth over and over again." Despite all the pain and hardships throughout my pregnancy and delivery, looking into this little girls eyes made it all worth it.

          It all began the day before around 3 pm. Josh and I had just finished a car wash with our teens from the Grove. I was lying on the couch resting while Josh mowed the yard. Shortly after falling asleep I woke up with horrible cramps. Not wanting to alarm Josh I told him I wasn't feeling good so I went to take a shower. For the next 30 minutes I secretly timed the cramps realizing that I could possibly be in labor. After about 45 minutes I came into the living room and proceeded to tell Josh: "Don't freak out but I think I'm having contractions." His response of course was to freak out and ask: "What does this mean?" I responded, "Well I'm pretty sure it means I'm in labor!" Of course I had already packed mine and Lynlee's bag for the hospital since I was supposed to be induced the next Wednesday. However, Josh had not. He then  began frantically packing and getting the car ready in case this was the real thing. Around 5:30 Josh and I decided it was time to head to the hospital since my contractions were now between 5-6 minutes apart.
         To make an already long story short after and hour at the hospital, one of the resident MALE doctors was going to send me home in my excruciating pain because I was only 2 1/2 cm dilated even though my contractions were 4 minutes apart. (He clearly had no idea how painful these things were!) My only option was to walk around for an hour and then see if I was dilated any more. Thank the Lord my water broke thirty minutes into my walk!! They were now going to admit me!! 
      Well the next few hours was a mix of many different emotions and events. I began to progress so fast that my epidural did not work. I jumped from 2 1/2cm to 8 cm in an hour. Finally after three tries my epidural kicked in and I was finally able to relax and I began feeling great (at least for 30 minutes until it was time to push). Thankfully Josh's parents made it just in time, right before I began pushing. Unfortunately my parents, 2 sisters,  grandmother, and sister n law were not going to make it from FL in time since I had progressed so quickly. :( After an hour and a half of pushing the greatest earthly gift God could give me and Josh was delivered at 1:29 am, and I can tell you today that I would go through it all again just for her!

The Beginning...

Yep you guessed it! It means we are gonna have a baby! That's how many test it took to convince me on  November 3, 2010 that I was pregnant. Josh and I were beyond excited, surprised, and overwhelmed at the thought of becoming parents. EXCITED because we had tried for almost a year to get pregnant, SURPRISED because of the timing, and OVERWHELMED because we were at the time living in a LITERAL one room apartment! That Wednesday I had gotten sick on a salad  that I had eaten for lunch. However, that wasn't the first time. I had been getting sick the last few days so I had gone the night before and bought a pregnancy test. I was scared to take it that night because for the last year I had taken a half a dozen and they had all been negative and I didn't want to be let down again.  I decided to wait to see if I felt sick again. Well it happened again so during nap time at school (I was a teachers assistant in kindergarten at this time) I texted Josh and told him to pick me up so we could go home. Well he did and less then 10 minutes later we found out we were going to be parents! We kept this a secret for almost three weeks so we could tell our families in person at Thanksgiving. That was one of the hardest things we had to do!! Needless to say, Josh was not as good as I was keeping the secret. The week after we found out, Josh went to the Wilds with some of our high school students. While Josh was there he was bursting at the seems and ended up telling one of the teenagers and a stranger in the bookstore that he was going to be a daddy! He was already a proud father! 

I was 8 weeks along when we found out!