Playing Catch Up

I can't believe my last entry was August 6th.  I was getting ready to go to the beach for a week. The day after returning from the beach I found out I was pregnant..sooo it kind of makes sense, things have gotten a bit shaken up since then.  

So, since August 6th, 2011:

I spent most of my first trimester sick and tired and getting up at 3:30 every morning to go to a job that was getting more and more stressful - understaffed, undersupported blah blah blah.. so in October of 2011 Dana and I made the very difficult and extremely faith based decision that I would quit my job.  Our original plan was that I would work as long as possible and we would cut way back and tighten up and pay off as much of our debt as we could before was a stay at home mom.  Well instead we stepped out in faith in a place where the numbers did not look good on paper but we really felt like I needed to leave that job.  Dana has said several times that it was the best decision we could have made.  He loves having me home, with the energy to take care of the house and do more cooking and lunch preparations and I have cherished this time before the baby comes of just enjoying my husband.  What happened since then has been nothing but miracle after miracle and blessing.
The Lord has been providing for us over and over again...
* The last weekend of my job, Dana had a swap meet that he took a bunch of stuff he had had for years to sell, he made over $800.
*The following week, a set of wheels and tires he had for sale sold.. $2,000.
*Our parents both having us over for dinner once a week to lower grocery costs for us
*The PUD guy that showed up to fix our light being my cousin who used his lift to cut trees down
* My best friend giving us the use of her crib and dresser for the baby
* My dad finding a hot smoke deal and buying us a new HE washer and dryer
*Finding out that I had stocks that we could sell from my job at Peet's $2,700
*Dana's bonuses being bigger than he thought (December's being double what we expected)
*A healthy baby boy arriving in April - Avery Robert
*Free wood to burn
*Dana finds $100 in a box in the garage
*Mona (Dana's mom)  gives $100 from a winning at the casino for her birthday
*2 different people giving me sacks of maternity clothes!

The list goes on and on and I feel like I should have been writing them down all along so that I wouldn't forget but it's been so amazing to watch God's provision in our lives and the way He has chosen to bless our little family.  I am in awe and speechless, frequently.

Going into this new year, I pray I will not forget or continue to look for all the amazing ways the Lord shows us he loves us and takes care of us.  We have an amazing God that loves us and loves when we put Him and His desires for our family first.