To catch you up on current events...
This year has been extremely challenging in many ways. This past February, Josh and I found out we were expected a sweet baby! We were absolutely thrilled and couldn't wait to tell our family. At our first Dr's appointment everything seemed fine, so Easter weekend we decided to tell our family and church family. But, life is sometimes cruel and does not make sense and at our ten week check up we found out that baby did not have a heartbeat. I cannot explain the ways that my heart broke with the loss of that little one. I think a part of me will forever be with that baby and I know in God's amazing grace that we will get to see that child, fully grown in perfection in eternity. In January God gave me a verse for the year, Romans 12:12 " Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer." This verse was mor fitting for my year than I realized. Praise God, He is good and walked us through the worst experience of our lives. After this happened I was shocked to hear about so many other women close to me that had lost babies. It is like this club that you become a part of against your will and the only way to be okay is to realize that so many others have faced this and are fully functioning humans with other children and good relationships. Thank you to all my family, friends, and others who brought food, said prayers and gave words of life.
In honor of our little one we planted a Dogwood tree in my parent's yard and had a small memorial ceremony, nothing fancy, but certainly good for my spirit. During that time I read as much literature on miscarriage and scripture as I could. Reading definitely brought me answers and peace that I prayed for. If you ever do go through this I am sorry, it sucks, and it is not fair. No words spoken by another person can make you feel better , only the voice of God can bring peace to that kind of brokenness. And if you encounter someone who is coping with this please be careful with your words. I had so many people tell me that they were praying for me, which was wonderful to hear, but then also had people try to explain to me that it was God's will and so on, this does not help. As a believer, I know that the Lord is all-knowing and that He is outside of time, but when someone is grieving this will not help regardless of how true it is. This is not your time to shed spiritual theology on them, but rather the time for you to take them food and tell them that you love them.
My favorite part of the story...
After 3 months of waiting we found out on a wonderful Friday morning that we were expecting again! I spent the next 10 weeks holding my breath and praying. At my 6 week appointment Josh and I saw a little baby and were amazed at the little fluttering heartbeat and then at my ten week appointment I heard the heartbeat. Music to my ears!!!
I was convinced that I was carrying a girl because of my "womanly intuition". I love it!
So fast forward to week 14 when we spread the news that we were expecting again! I let my Golden Retriever Jewel do the hard work...I'm a little partial but she is the most beautiful dog!
Of course, Josh and I could not wait to find out who was in my belly..girl or boy??! My wonderful sister-in-law Courtney threw us a Gender Reveal Party. The theme was "Guess Whooo", an adorable pink and blue owl party (in honor of my love for owls).
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| Courtney got the cake from Fultondale Bakery with the secret inside color... |
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| Everyone dressed to show who they think Baby Deeter will be...my Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law took it a little too far... |
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| My mom and I racked our brains to think of all the pink and blue food we could. There was a pretty impressive spread. |
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| We served my dad's wonderful "Fried Chicken Salad", I'll have to post the recipe later! |
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| Sandwiches/crackers and a pink and blue cheeseball that my grandmother made! |
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| Some of our pink and blue... cotton candy, jelly beans, sour straws, marshmallows, and pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate with sprinkles. |
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| All of the appropriate colored fruit we could find: Strawberries, (blue) grapes, raspberries, blueberries and watermelon. |
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| Josh and I found out the gender of our baby the Thursday before the party so we each chose a color so we didn't give it away! |
We had about 60 guests show up to the party!! So, for the final cutting of the cake we crammed everyone into my parent's kitchen and I cut the giant cake. There were 3 different Skype calls going on for out of town friends who wanted to know. The anticipation was unbelievable!
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| Surprise! It's a BOY!!! Little Judah Michael Deeter will be here in February. |
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| Here I am at 20 weeks, it is unbelievable how much my belly has grown in just 2 weeks! |
Love to all,
Emily
