God is STILL Good

Dearest friends...this is simply a cut and paste of an e-mail I sent out...I will be back...I will share more as we work our way through this process...a process of grieving with hope...but I at least wanted to fill you in. Pray that our hearts would be filled with rejoicing as well tomorrow as we celebrate the milestone of Elizabeth's third birthday....

Thank you all for your prayers. We had our appointment this morning and found out that we indeed miscarried. Obviously it has been an emotion-filled day for us...definitely grief but also rejoicing as we reflect on what God is doing in our lives. We are amazed by the reality of being in a place where you hurt like crazy and yet can also stand at the same time and say, "God is good" from the depth of your heart. We have had the past week to be in prayer and in the Word, fixing our eyes on Jesus, and preparing for whatever was to come, and underneath all of this we are walking in an abiding peace and assure of His love and goodness. Last night I was reminded of the truth from Colossians 1:16-17 that "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." He is holding us together...drawing us unto Himself...and revealing His mercies that are new every moment.

Please continue to lift us up as we work through the grieving and emotions and continue in the day to day. I am praising Jesus that in spite of a heavy heart I am once again able to lift up my girls and hold them close to me in these moments...

Amanda :)

Spilling the Beans...in More Ways Than One

so today is the day to spill the beans...in more ways than

one, really.

 i'll start with the big fun secret...that many of you have already read about

on other blogs.  the big ol' baby shower

for miss leslie (over at happily ever after--sorry i can't hyperlink it from my

couch "computer"--more on that later).  a little over a month ago i received an

e-mail from some lovely blog world friends who wanted to show the beautiful

leslie some love....via an internet baby shower.  and so the secret plotting and planning

began...the sending of lovely quilt fabric scraps from sweet Chelle...the

creating of lovely little gifts...the praying for sweet baby cade...so much

love in one secret little blog.  and

voila...last night the cat was let out of the bag as susan, a real world friend

of leslie's surprised her with the gifts and the blog site...

head on over to check out the shower and to wish leslie a happy last fwe days

or weeks of pregnancy.  while you are

there you will meet some incredible women!

www.showersofblessingforcade.blogspot.com  (i'd love to hyperlink that as well...or add

the lovely little button wendi designed...but alas, my wii internet browser

isn't that savy!).

this brings me to "secret" number two...not so much a secret, and

quite honestly not something i was sure i would put out there in

blog-land.  but the ladies over at

showers of blessings know...as do some of my other bloggity land friends...and

all of our real world friends...and to be honest, it has been heavy on my heart

to share...to simply be real with where i am right now....

i'm on the couch...on bedrest...we were blessed to be surprised with the news

that we were pregnant with our third little "yak" just a few weeks

ago.  incredibly surprised...incredibly

delighted by the news.  and then just a

week ago i started having some complications...complications that have led my

ob to put me on very strict bedrest...the kind where i am only supposed to get

up to use the facilities type bedrest.

in the past week we've run the whole gamut of emotions...hope and

trust...fear and frustration...anger...back to trust...back to fear...and on

and on.  we've had lots of time to talk,

celebrate, cry, pray and simply "be".

God is already showing us so clearly that He is Sovereignly in

control...that He is good even as we struggle with the uncertainties before

us....that He is the one who upholds us as we wait for further news.  He is teaching me to keep my eyes on His

truth and His power...to not trust in my own strength or emotions or

abilities...He is humbling us and then lifting us up in His strength.

we are praying for life...that we would meet this little one in the delivery

room in May...and yet, we are also setting our hearts on the reality that He is

God...that He is good...and that He is our Lord regardless of what He chooses

for this pregnancy.  we have already been

incredibly blessed by the love of the body of Christ...the community...our

friends and family...and even you, my blog-land friends.  we would covet your prayers in the coming

days...prayers for this baby, prayers for our faith, prayers for the witness

and testimony we will have regardless of the outcome of our ultrasound tuesday.

and that my friends brings me back to typing from my couch.  my sweet husband quickly realized that blog-land

and e-mail access might make the couch ridden days go by more quickly (since

the computer is upstairs...a trek i can only make once a day!)...and so he

figured out how to hook our wii internet browser up and a keyboard...and

voila....back in the internet business.

a big thanks to my mom who was able to come down and chase the girlies

and clean our house...my sweet friends who have offered to help at any

time...mike's parents who came by today with lunch and a wee birthday

celebration for elizabeth (who turns 3 in just 4 short days!)...and so many

other blessings along the way.  as we go

along i am keeping a journal of "thanks in the trial"...wanting to

focus on what blessings and lessons God might have for us in this

time...already its pages are filled with some sweet and incredible goodness in

the midst of some adverse times.  we

trust Him...and we pray that as we go through this we would bring glory and

honor to Him.



       much love....amanda :)

ten smile tuesday...

this is a deviation from my normal smiles...mostly just our smiles in pictures. i will probably be absent from blog-land for the next week but wanted to post some snippets of the past week first. as i am able i will pop by to visit you all.

ten smile tuesday

1. having daddy home...after LOTS of long overtime hours, we were all thrilled to have daddy home with us for the weekend. elizabeth was especially thrilled to help daddy sift wheat for milling and bread baking...how precious it is to see how they love one another so!

2. the sound of elizabeth's voice belting out the words to "mighty to save" (from last weeks smiles!)...we were at a prayer and worship night at church sunday and sang this song. she was thrilled...and as for me...well, needless to say, i had tears streaming down my face as i listened to her tender little voice worshipping Jesus.

3. F...for flowers and frogs...F for friends, like the kind we had over for dinner friday night...F for fun...a week filled with it! :)

4. all these groceries for just $10...seriously! gotta love kroger and catalina coupons...we are stocked on granola bars and soup for quite awhile to come (and air fresheners too!).

5. sunday afternoon naps...its been quite awhile since i've snuggled in for a nap, but boy did it feel great! :)

6. papasan fun. in an ongoing attempt to organize and de-clutter we decided to get rid of the papasan in our bedroom, and when the girls discovered it downstairs--waiting to be hauled away--they had a blast goofing around it in. definitely some photo-worthy moments!

7. these little feet taking some steps. just yesterday kate gathered the courage to really give walking a try (shes taken a few steps before but not consistently or stably)...she's taking 5 or 6 steps at a time and really starting to balance. it is so amazing to see her gather confidence...and, of course, to see that HUGE grin and hear the belly laugh when she successfully makes it to her target! :)

8. laundry folding "help"...let me tell you, these two are the best helpers EVER! :) (how is it that elizabeth can successfully get daddy's big ol' socks on her legs AND arms but never seem to get her own on when we're in a hurry!?)

9. sights like this...elizabeth's future profession...clowning! the socks and shoes really make the outfit...dontcha think!?

10. the cute little things elizabeth utters all the time these days. yesterday we were putting "choo-choo" stickers on her birthday invitations (yep...figured out what we are doing!), and she kept calling the conductor the train pastor. "mommy...lets put the train pastor on this one." "elizabeth, he is the conductor...remember when the train drives by and we wave at the conductor?" "nope, he is the pastor, mommy." apparently anyone in a suit must be a pastor.

11. one last smile...since i missed marking the day (which was actually saturday!)...it was 5 years ago saturday that mike asked me to be his wife...after a lovely day of walking on the canal, picnicking, and hanging in the park (and being "followed" by his photographer friend ALL day...i was quite oblivious to the fact...definitely blinded by love!--and, of course, now i can't find the file with the actual proposal picture...but this is us later in the day)

drumroll, please....

....and the winner is....Nancy M. over at Southern Blessings! Thanks to all who entered my little contest, visited my little shop (I have added more items and have more blankets--girlie fabrics--that will be added soon), and left such loving and encouraging comments. I wish I could give away a set of coasters to each and every one of you...but alas....

Nancy...could you e-mail me (theyakmom AT yahoo.com) with your address info. Also let me know what color ink you would like (black or brown) and what initial you would like for the monogram. Congratulations!

the plunge...

well...i did it....finally. i just finished listing my first item in my etsy shop! after i published the listing and starting looking through others, of course i got all nervous (not sure why...since it really isn't like i'm risking anything)....perhaps my item description should have been better...what if i was too high in price (even though i decided to go with free shipping)....what if...what if...what if! ironically...my first item listed was the coasters (because of you all and your fab response to my pictures last week--thanks for the love!). i think that was less pressure than starting with sewing items...

anyway...i did it. aGatoraMonkeyandaPug is now open for business! stop by...visit...pass the word along. anyone need some coasters!?!? ;) click here to go to my little shop....with its one lonely item! more coming soon...i promise!

and...as promised...i am going to do a giveaway in honor of this occasion. it will be my very FIRST giveaway. i'm giving away one set of coasters...you pick the ink color and the monogram.

how do you enter? i'm glad you asked. leave a comment on this blog post...and please, if you have a blog would you be kind enough to mention my giveaway and coasters on your blog--linking back to this post...although, even if you don't do this, i'll still let you enter...i suppose (i guess i'm nice like that!). if you don't have a blog you can still enter...just be sure to leave me an e-mail address or some form of contact info (unless you know i already have that info!). the giveaway will close sunday night at 8:00 p.m., and i will draw a winner at random, and announce the name by monday morning.

three great giveaways

i ran across these three great giveaways...just wanted to pass them along to you, my dear blog-land friends!

the giveaways are all over at Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls...who is celebrating her 100th post

*pumpkin spice scented Keystone candle set (mmm...i can almost smell it now...i LOVE pumpkin spice scents...and lattes as well!) go here to enter.

*honeybee gardens make-up set--go here to enter

*and finally...my favorite. ribbie clippies. go here to enter

good luck! :)