Thanks Julie!

Well, any of you that have been pregnant will understand this one... I'm in that time of my pregnancy where there's not a whole lot of evidence that I'm pregnant. I can't feel the baby move yet, and the nausea seems to be fading, so I'm just stuck wondering if everything is ok still; especially those of you who have had a miscarriange or some type of event in pregnancy that could make you worry more than normal. I thought about just calling the nurse at my doc's office to see if she would let me come in and hear the heartbeat (I used to do that for people when I worked for her) but this nurse may do things differently than I did so I decided to just leave it alone. Then Saturday night I hung out with my friend Julie. She works on the high risk maternity floor at OU med center. She took me up there and hooked me up to one of the monitors!! It was so comforting to hear that little rapid heartbeat again!!!! I even got to print the strip from the monitor!!! (something for the baby book she said) Anyway, thanks Julie for easing my mind. For those of you who have heartrate theories about the sex of the baby here are the three that we've gotten so far:

1st -on ultrasound- 170 something...
2nd -154
this weekend-150

Let me know what you guys think!

Clara

Here is the link to Clara's Website:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/claraphillips

GRATEFUL

So Justin has been listening to this pastor out of Seattle. His name is Mark Driskell and he apparently in Justin's oppinion is right on about just about everything. He's been talking about the sermon series on Proverbs that Pastor Driskell has to download from his website. He has been telling me for weeks that he wants me to listen to it, but we haven't been able to get our ipod to play in the car out where we live. It's hard to find a radio frequency that will bring it in clear enough to not annoy the heck out of us with all the static. Thanks to our friends Tiffo and Jo we have been able to listen the last couple of days cause they let us borrow there adapter. Let me just say that I've only listened to maybe an hour of the whole series and I really like what this guy has to say! So far it's been about men being men...and I have to admit that even though I often get so frustrated with some of Justin's ways of thinking, most of what Driskell says seems to be what Justin has been saying for a long time. I appreciate that my husband takes a stand for me to his family, work and in life in general. I am grateful that I don't have a push-over husband who lets me manipulate situations for what I want (although sometimes I will admit I try!) I am grateful that even though he can come accross as a jerk, he does have my best interest at heart most of the time. I always thought he was just being a turd, and sometimes he is, but most of the time he really is trying to do what God has created him to do...be the man...I appreciate that he has been preparing to be a father for longer than just a short time before our baby gets here. He really desires to be the kind of father God calls all men to be in Proverbs. I appreciate that he is doing most (when I say most I mean all) the housework since I had the miscarriage and got pregnant again. I know that deep down he would rather wait for me to do it, but he does it anyway and lets me sleep and throw up. So, I'm not gonna tell him that I blogged this, cause he might get embarrassed to know that someone is tearing down his "Bad Boy" persona that he tries to portray! Anyway, I am grateful for him. Everyone should check out Mark Driskell from Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Supposedly there is a really great sermon on being a woman of God also. I'm looking forward to and dreading it all at the same time.

Please continue to pray for Baby Clara. They have closed her chest and her heart is beating well, but she still won't eat. They are going to do an MRI of her head today or tomorrow. The doctors can't seem to pinpoint why she refuses to eat. This is such a roller coaster for her mom and dad. There names are Brent and Kathy Phillips. Please pray for them too.

Pray for Baby Clara!

Ok friends I'm asking you to pray today for Heather's (my bro's wife) niece Clara Phillips. She is Heather's brother and his wife's new daughter. She was born about 7 weeks ago, three weeks early and has had some feeding troubles since birth. After a visit to the GI specialist to find out why she wouldn't eat, they found that she has severe acid reflux and aspiration. An NG tube was placed to help her eat cause she hasn't gained any weight. She weighs 6 pounds 12 ounces at 7 wks old. In a routine X-ray to see if the NG tube was in place they found a severe congenital heart defect that required immediate surgery. The doctor told them that if they had waited even one month more, Baby Clara would not live. She had open heart surgery on Tuesday March 17, to correct the defect. She is currently in stable condition, but is still on a breathing machine. I can only imagine how it must be to get this kind of news and see your sweet new baby on a breathing needing help to breathe. Only our Creator can bring peace and rest in a time like this. Please pray for healing for Clara, understanding, and peace. Go to caringbridge.org and type in claraphillips in the search to read about her. I'll try to keep this updated. Pass it on to all your friends.

Things to Pray For

This is just the short list!!

1. NEW JOB--We have been asking God to bless Justin with a new job. He really enjoys the one he has, but it doesn't pay much and there really isn't much opportunity for raises since it is a small company. He might go back to school also. We just need direction.

2. NEW HOUSE?--We have looked at over 30 houses since we got back from Portland. We have found many that we liked, but not that perfect one. We feel some sense of a timeline since "Baby Dwayne" is coming. We are in a fine house now, but renting. We would like our monthly payments to be an investment. Again, direction.

3. HEALTHY BABY--I think that one is pretty self explanitory.

4. LESS BICKERING-- My hormones are crazy and Justin must be going through some stress too cause we argue alot lately. We've always been arguers but we don't need that added stress right now. We need patience and understanding for each other.

5. DISCIPLINE-- We both desire to be people that make a difference in our community. We were watching Extreme Home Makeover last night and the family on there sacrificed everything (I mean everything) to feed thousands of hungry children and their families. We want to make a difference somehow also...selflessly. ..this requires so much discipline to spend time in the word and listening to his guidance.

6. KRISTINA, JAY, AND BELLA-- Justin sister's family is at a crossorads I think...They are at this point of having to grow up...really grow up. It's gonna hurt, and won't be comfortable, but they are learning that they need to be obedient to God's word. We want to be a help in this, but sometimes lack the patience that we need to love them through things.

7. TIFFANY--Justin's other sister starts a new job this week...following in the footsteps of her bro., she got job at the tag office. What an opportunity to change multiple things in her life while she changes jobs. We really care about her and want to see her desiring to follow Christ again. She's struggling with what is real. Having grown up like most of us in a really legalistic setting, it's hard to figure out what is truth and what is a lie when it comes to how God feels about us.

Please pray for us. We need it!

Big Changes

I think most everyone knows by now that we are expecting our first child in October. We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and everything looks good. It was such a trip to see that tiny little heartbeat! At the time, the baby only measured 7 millimeters!!! That is so incredibly small, and it amazes me that babies already have a heartbeat by then! How can anyone deny that we have a creator God who forms and holds everything together! For the most part I feel great. Mornings are a little tough and I'm tired easily, but it's all worth it.

We have been looking for a house to buy and fix up for several months now. It feels a little more rushed now that we have a baby coming. I'd like to at least have a "livable house" by the time "baby Dwayne" (that's what we are calling it until we know the gender in honor of our friend Caleb Arter) gets here. We ultimately want to be able to afford diapers and feed the baby, so getting into a big project is a bit scary. We are praying for direction on a specific house that we looked at last weekend. We both love it, which is a miracle in itself. But it's a higher price than we were looking for. So, please pray for wisdom for us in the next couple of days.

I will try to keep blogging every week or so. I'll also try to get some pictures on here sometime.

Back in Oklahoma

Much has happened in that last month. I guess it was the ast week of September when Justin and I figured out that we should move back to Oklahoma. It was a very difficult descision, but not made without much prayer and wise counsel. The more time we spent in Portland, the more unsettled about being there we became. We want to please God, wherever he has us. We learned so much about each other and how God has put a huge love in our hearts for Oklahoma. Portland was cool, very exciting, and needs Jesus just as much as Oklahoma, but we feel a special love for Oklahoma. The exciting thing is that God keeps confirming in our hearts day after day that Oklahoma is right for us.
Great news!!! I got my job back. It's no coincidence really. When I left for Portland, they interviewed nine people for the position and didn't like any of them. They reposted the job and me and two other people applied. They called all of us for an interview and the other two applicants did not show up. That can only be God working all that out for me. I asked him to have favor and he did. I really love this job because it is in the community, and I know that I will be able to love on people who are hurting. So I'm excited.
We have settled in now and are looking for a house to purchase. We have talked about different ideas of how to do community with a few people who are one heart with us. Please pray that God will give direction as to what the next step is for us.
We love our Portlander friends and miss them. We pray that God will reveal himself and his heart to them in new amazing ways.