So Thankful...

The past few months have been life-changing to say the least! Ryan and I were not expecting the pregnancy but we could not be happier that our sweet baby girl is coming soon! We know that we are so very blessed that this chapter of our life happened so unexpectantly when we know so many others struggle with getting pregnant and carrying their babies full term. I honestly always worried I wouldn't be able to have children so the fact that it has been the biggest surprise of my life has been,  well, surprising! In the beginning I really struggled with the changes we would need to make in our life- the sacrifices in giving up the right to be selfish, go on trips when we wanted etc. but when I heard that heartbeat for the first time I realized the things I would be giving up were just not important at all compared to holding our daughter for the first time and spending the rest of our lives raising our family.
I have also been so overwhelmed and blessed with the outpouring of love and excitement from both of our families and all of our friends. It is no secret that a few years ago I was deeply hurt by a very close friend that is no longer apart of my life. If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that it has been a process for me because I have never experienced anything like this before and honestly would be shocked if it ever happened again. The Lord has been faithful through it all and has placed such amazing people around me; although no one can fill the place that this person has in my heart I strongly believe that the ones closest to me now are exactly who should be there.

What has also been really amazing through all of this is that I have met and become close with multiple girls who have gone through similar experiences after I did and I was able to listen and share in their pain- this is something I would have never been able to do had I not gone through this difficult time. I have been avoiding bringing this up because I feel so at peace with everything and have for quite some time but writing is an outlet for me and there is just something about putting it all on paper, or on the computer screen that allows so much reflection and I just love that!

All of that being said, I am so SO thankful for my friends, I am not sure that I deserve having such close friendships with the most amazing people on earth but I am so glad you are all here! I am also thankful for a husband that understands how important my friends are to me- just last weekend he gladly gave our house up for the day so that a few of my besties could come spend the night and hang-out on our couch all day. I know some people walk through life never meeting even one close friend and I have been surrounded with so many from different chapters in my life that I have been able to pick-up along the way and plan to keep with me forever :-)

Faith Bible Church has also played a HUGE role in the healing process for me. I still miss Fort Worth most days, I miss being across the street from two of my besties, all of the fun things to do and just that entire chapter of our life but I know without a doubt that God has brought us home for a reason and serving at FBC has been amazing. Being apart of the student ministry and seeing Ryan in action has strengthened our marriage more than I thought possible. The staff is so gracious and everyone is a few steps ahead of us- Ryan's boss and his wife have been such amazing examples to us in particular and are two people we aspire to be in so many ways. I have written about our small group before but those friendships are so different than the rest because we have an entire group of people going through the same chapter of life that we are and they have shared in our joys in pains over the last year and I am sure they will always be apart of our life.

Ryan and I are so lucky to have such great families who are supportive and share in our joy which I know is such a rare occurence these days. We have exciting days ahead that I know will hold all sorts of different emotions but we want you to know how thankful we are that you are apart of our life and this chapter we are embarking on! We are now accepting names to be submitted for our little girl so if you have any PLEASE send them my way! I hope that you and your family will have a very Merry Christmas!!