A Birthday, A Graduation, A Shower...and Then Some...

We had a whirlwind weekend in Cincinnati that was super busy and super fun along the way. We started out with a birthday celebration for our soon to be brother-in-law Ryan on Friday evening. Saturday we were all up very early for a military commissioning ceremony for Rob's cousin Ross who graduated from Miami University and is heading off to Navy Seals training in June. It was a cold, misty, outdoor ceremony so I was under a blanket with Liam not taking any pictures. Later, on Saturday evening Kayla and I hosted a personal shower for Lauren with a group of her girlfriends. Sunday was Mother's Day so we had church and brunch with the family before Lauren and I headed off to a friend's baby shower in the afternoon. Whew, I was ready to go home by the end of all that! 

We had a great time seeing everyone we did and celebrating many fun things, especially for Lauren and Ryan and their upcoming wedding. 

In the midst of all that I was remembering where we were a year ago with our miscarriage over Mother's Day weekend. There were some sad moments, but mostly it was sweet to feel this baby kicking around inside me and be thankful for him. The Lord was very kind to use my trial to help a friend who also miscarried early in her pregnancy over the weekend. She remembered that we went through the same thing and called me to talk. I was able to share what helped me and also pray with her. I felt like the whole experience came full circle and that was a healing moment for me. I think Mother's Day will always be bittersweet for me considering how blessed I am on one hand and to still miss the child we have in heaven on the other hand. 

But, like I said, the whole thing makes me thankful that my body is able to bear and have children and that the Lord is so kind to continue to give us children at all. 

And here are a few photos from the weekend. (Sidenote: Blogger is not being kind to the photos I upload from my iPhone. They look terrible on here! If anyone has any idea why this is happening and how to fix it, I would appreciate the feedback.) 

During the shower on Saturday, Rob and his dad took Liam out to a real golf course for the first time. He had his little set of clubs and apparently had a great time. I was glad Rob had our camera to get a few pictures. 

Riding in a golf cart with a snack. Does life get any better than that? 

Lining up the shot...

Rob had so many pictures like this! Apparently Liam was very particular (big surprise there!) about getting the ball on the tee and spent a lot of time bent over attempting that feat of coordination. 

I was very disappointed that my peony plant was not blooming in time for the shower. But Trader Joe's came through and I was able to get some pretty white flowers instead. This was for the shower food table, but before the tablecloth went on. 

Sisters! 

Lauren introduced me to Kathryn when we first moved to Bloomington and we were immediate friends. She and her husband now live in Minnesota, so we were quite blessed to have her come in for the shower. They are expecting their first baby in July so we were at her baby shower on Sunday afternoon. 

I loved that our babies got to "meet!" 

Mother's Day brunch with the Bedinghaus women 

And with my THREE best guys! Happy Mother's Day to me! 

Baby!

It's official -- we're adding another BOY to our family! We had our 20-week ultrasound today and all the boy parts were there. We were not surprised at all, but it was good to have our thoughts confirmed. Even better than this news is the fact that everything about the baby looked good. I was reminded again of how good God is to give us children, but not only that, healthy children. We do not deserve anything from his hand and yet he continues to bestow these blessings upon us. He is the creator of all life and is the one who knits together all those parts of a baby so perfectly. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! 

It is also very kind of God to give us another boy. I think he and Liam will be tremendous friends. Liam definitely needs a playmate! Liam is already talking about all the things he will teach his brother, particularly all the Thomas trains and all about trucks. 

Thank you for your prayers for this baby! Please pray the rest of my pregnancy goes well and the baby continues to grow strong and healthy. 

Again, the intricacies of the spine growing together is astounding. 

We can't wait to meet this baby! 

Celebratory ice cream after the ultrasound. Liam is clearly more excited about the ice cream than a new brother! 

St. Louis

We set out Thursday for another fun-filled weekend in St. Louis. My youngest brother Luke and his wife Logan live there while Luke is in chiropractic school. Since they've lived there, Logan has now almost finished two years of college. She had her senior show for her graphic design major on Thursday night so our whole family decided to make a family weekend out of it. My parents and Ben and Heidi flew down at various times too.

This was the first we'd all been together since Christmas so it was wonderful to be together. The bummer was the weather as it ended up raining the entire weekend. We did not pack enough warm clothing either! We had hoped to do some fun things like visiting their zoo, the Arch park, golf and walking around their adorable neighborhood, but alas, most of that didn't happen. The guys still managed two rounds of golf in decent weather, but the ladies and Liam mostly stayed inside.

We made the best of it and still had a fun time together. It was especially fun to see Logan's finished projects that she has worked so hard on. She is incredibly talented. We are so proud of you, Logan! Your show was beautiful. 

This was one of my favorite designs. She created fake companies like this florist and made marketing materials for them. 

More from the florist

Another fake company, a jewelry store this time. 

Liam's favorite activity of the weekend was throwing Bow Wow up into the ceiling fan while it was spinning. Tons of fun I tell you. 

Apparently many people spent a lot of time reading to Liam over the weekend....Grammy...

Aunt Heidi....

And Uncle Luke.

This was really how we spent a lot of the weekend. 

On Friday we ventured out to their science museum because it was free and indoors. Most of the exhibits were over Liam's head, but there were some fun things for everyone to do. 

Of course Ben and Luke found something to build.

This was as close as Liam got to the Arch. 

Love you all! 

And this munchin too...how can I resist taking a picture of him sleeping like this? 

Coming up tomorrow: Our 20-week ultrasound and hopefully the revealing of the sex of our new baby!