We were so fortunate to get pregnant with Gabe and Lily very quickly. December 17th, 2005 we decided to try and have a baby. Mid-January 2006 we found out we were pregnant with Gabe. June 15th, 2008 we decided to try and have another baby. Mid-July we found out we were pregnant with Lillian.

I experienced God in so many ways during my pregnancies. In the wonder of knowing a child was growing inside me... In the wellness and health I maintained while pregnant... In the science of how this tiny little thing would grow into a beautiful individual... In the expression of the love that Tim and I share with each other and with our Creator... In the opportunities it created to fellowship and grow in relationship with others... In the myriad ways it changed the dynamics of already existing relationships...

The births of my children were awesome in the grandest sense of the word. I was filled with awe - awe for their sweet little faces, awe that they came out knowing I was their mother, awe that Tim and I were gifted these little people, awe that God had orchestrated this all to happen. Such incredible moments!

Around the beginning of 2011, we felt that there was room in our lives for another child. (It was also around this time that Gabe began praying for a little brother and a little sister! Lily was silent on the subject, but did ask often for a puppy.) We began trying to have another child. Almost pridefully, I assumed this would be an easy task. We got pregnant so easily before it just didn't occur to me that we wouldn't have the same experience this time.

11 months, one miscarriage and an incomplete adoption later, we are a family of four. (A family of four which laughs out loud daily, which begins our mornings with snuggles and quiet moments, which eats pizza once a week, which seeks to serve God and others, to love and to be love.) We are a family of four with hearts open for whatever God might have in store for us.

It was so easy to so God's design and His purpose during my pregnancies. It is so easy to see Him in the raising of my children. This year, I am embracing His design and purpose in our not yet welcoming a third child. This is not always an easy task. There are moments when this is even a struggle.

My desire is to use this experience as a means to glorify Him, to celebrate His goodness and to grow His kingdom. I am so thankful for the people in my life who hold me accountable to this - and who love me still when at times I fall short.

Praying for grace and peace in your day, readers!