A bounty of blessings

25 Weeks!

This weekend has been a bounty of blessings. One after another, after another, after another. Let me start from the beginning.
On Friday morning I started getting dressed for work, only to open my closet and feel like I had exhausted all of my clothing options. Men don't understand this, but women get to a point where they just get sick of their clothes and need something new to wear. Well, I've been wearing the same dozen or so maternity outfits for the past 15 weeks, and I had just had it with my wardrobe. On top of that, I had a wedding to go to the following night, and not a thing to wear! I sighed a bit, wishing that we had the funds for me to do a little shopping, and picked out a top and some jeans for casual Friday and went about my day. That morning, my mom called and asked if she could meet me for lunch, stating that she had a surprise for me. My reply? Of course it was yes. When we met at La Madeline that afternoon, I was beyond excited and touched when I saw her walk in with a box from the maternity clothing store in town. A beautiful top, sweater, and slacks awaited me (modeled in my belly pic above) and I was excited to have the opportunity to wear something new to church and work the next week.
Later that afternoon, a friend from church texted me stating that she had just gone through a box of her maternity clothes and had some things that she wanted to share with me, and could I drop by after work and pick them up. My reply? Of course it was yes! After work I stopped by her house and had a full box of spring clothes awaiting me. Short sleeved tops, some summer dresses, shorts and dressy capri pants that I could wear to work...I had a regular fashion show when I got home trying them all on. Then, Saturday afternoon while Dave was running some errands, I was at home reading when the door bell rang. When I opened it, awaiting me was a big box with the return address of my dear sister in law in Arkansas. I opened
the box, and behold, more spring clothes! Multiple dresses that I can wear to work and lots of casual tops and shorts for our upcoming trip to San Francisco! I was overwhelmed. I actually have run out of hangers to put everything away in my closet (I even stole some from Dave!). What a blessing to have some fresh clothes to wear and so many people in my life willing to bless me in such a way.

If you thought that was great....keep reading....

One of the things Dave and I wanted for our nursery was a glider/rocker. I didn't want a traditional rocking chair and was really hoping to find something more modern. Have you looked at gliders? They are EXPENSIVE! I knew we could find a used one, but most of them that I had seen used looked really worn and awful. I was expressing this desire to my friend at work when she said "Well, I have a glider and ottoman sitting in my room that I'm holding for a friend. I'll bet she'd let you have it." 15 minutes later, my friend at work had confirmed that the glider was, indeed, mine for FREE if I wanted it. FREE!!! Dave and I stopped by on Saturday morning to look at it, and it was perfect....


Its hard to tell the color from the terrible lighting in our nursery, but it is a soft baby green, perfect for a boy or girl, and it is high enough in the back that Dave can be comfortable. I absolutely love it and it is exactly what I had in mind. And it was FREE!!!

In addition to a glider, and probably more of a priority, was a crib. I'll spare you the long saga of our desire to buy a used crib and just say that we were hoping to buy one from a family I work with, however when I finally got to see it, it just wasn't what I had pictured. I want to be a smart shopper, but I also want to buy things that I like and not just settle for whatever people want to dump off on me. Well, after being highly disappointed that the crib wasn't going to work out, I came home to a very generous check in the mail from Mom and Dad Norvell. Combined with some of the money we had budgeted, I was able to get the crib of my dreams.... It is absolutley everything I had wanted. I had searched website after website looking for the perfect crib, and this is what I had pictured! It wasn't cheap by any means...but thanks to the blessings of our family, we were able to get it.

I've struggled alot lately with how we are going to provide for this baby. I mean, Dave and I do an excellent job managing our money, but I know it's going to be more of a challenge once Little C gets here. This weekend has helped me remember, and realize in a whole new way, the we aren't going to be providing anything for Little C, God will. It all comes from Him. Every diaper rag, bottle, crib, maternity shorts, and gesture of love comes from God. Without Him, we would have nothing. But more importantly, without Him, all of this means nothing. Thank you, Lord, for providing me new clothes when I wanted them, for giving us the furniture of our dreams, and for reminding me that You are in control. I hope that each of you can be blessed by Him as I have.