A Sweet Season

Okay…..an update is so long overdue! Well, we’ve begun our 2012 year by hitting the ground running! I realized when looking at my last post that I haven’t posted anything since we’ve been pregnant! So I’ll backtrack and give the whole past 8 months in a slightly detailed nutshell J

On July 18, 2011 of last summer, Michael and I found out that we were, quite surprisedly, pregnant with our first baby! We were blown away for a little while, but as the realization began to sink in, we shifted our focus of things and immediately began to prepare for parenthood! This has taken a host of shapes and forms in the past several months. It’s been such a joy to register for baby things and work to figure out nursery colors and themes, all of that has been so exciting, but that truly pales in comparison with our spiritual preparation. Because our baby girl is a surprise gift from the Lord (and one we are daily more blessed by, challenged by, and immensely thankful for), our mentality shifted quickly rather than having some time of thought to slowly shift to “parenting 101.” Lol. As we began to pray, search Scripture, and carefully select reading material that will point us to Scripture and validate God’s Word regarding parenting, we found ourselves being consistently stretched by the Lord as He began to work in our hearts an understanding the weight of what He’s entrusting to us. Biblical parenting is an immense responsibility that seems daunting (because it is J) but because it was God working in us to prepare us for this step that He had clearly directed for us, we’ve seen His daily grace richly lavished upon us as we discuss everything from deep issues regarding our responsibility as parents as laid out in Scripture (particularly Ephesians 6:4), our approach to discipline (Proverbs is full of direction on that front) and what it will mean for us to “train her in the instruction of the LORD” (Eph. 6:4). We’ve are so privileged by the Lord that He would entrust this child into our care – and give us the sole responsibility of training her to know Him, know her need of Him, and pray fervently that she will see that need and receive his gracious gift of salvation. How weighty does that sound? Quite. But we are witnesses of his daily grace as He has worked in our hearts to prepare us and even to graciously reveal areas of sin that we each must Scripturally address and “work on” (Eph. 4:24-26) if we are going to be faithful, biblical parents.

We have been encouraged and convicted by several biblical resources that do a fantastic job of clearly representing Scripture and using it as the source of direction on how to parent rather than incorporating man-made systems infused with a worldly approach that isn’t faithfully accurate to Scripture. Below is a list of some of the resources we’ve enjoyed and look forward to working through together in the coming months.

- The Faithful Parent – Stuart Scott and Martha Peace

- Teach them Diligently – Lou Priolo

- Give them Grace – Elyse Fitzpatrick

- Big Truths for Young Hearts – Bruce A. Ware

So that’s been the bulk of our approach to our baby’s arrival. Working on our hearts and getting ready for the task of being daddy and mommy J Some of the more practical preparation has been a blast as well: like registering and preparing her nursery. J Yes, our first baby is a girl! Much to my surprise! I was certain we were having a boy, but we confirmed on November 1, 2011, that our tiny little life inside was indeed a baby daughter! How humbling it’s been to prepare for her arrival, to pray for her physical growth, to pray for her spiritual condition and that God would graciously draw her to Him in saving faith! We’ve enjoyed each step! By God’s grace, we also decided on her name: Abigail Grace Skeen. She’s due March 22, 2012 and we’re excitedly counting down the days J

We did have quite a bit of excitement, to put it mildly, on Christmas day of 2011. I was just shy of 7 months and began having very regular contractions early that morning. So, we spend part of our Christmas morning in the Granbury Medical Center ER! They hooked me up to a fetal monitor and checked on Abigail. She was just fine, thankfully! They attributed by contractions to stress and dehydration. With a promise that I would stay off my feet and takes things slow and guzzle a TON of water – they released me after a few hours of tlc there in the OB wing. J Since then, we’ve been able to talk with and see my own doctor who confirmed that I have not begun to dilate (praise the LORD) and that I certainly need to take things slow and remain as stress-free as I can. But, other than that, and with regular two-week testing to make sure I’ve not begun pre-term labor, we’ve begun the year as gingerly as possible. J

On another front, this weekend has been a particularly busy one. God has graciously provided a rental house for us to make into our home as we become a family of 3! We’re so excited and grateful for His provision in this. Preparing the house and actually moving is an entirely momumental task, but God has been helping us each day with that, as well! This weekend’s focus has been painting the ENTIRE interior of the house. Painting the house was part of our rental agreement, and it’s been exciting to pick wall colors and begin the process of “nesting.” Actually painting has been a challenge though. Thankfully, my wonderful mom, who is a pro at painting, graciously came out this weekend, and she and Michael, along with several sweet friends from our LifeGroup at church, have been steadily cracking away at the task! (I love to paint, but I can’t be on my feet for long periods of time – another means of keep contractions at bay – and I can’t subject tiny baby Abigail to the paint fumes) so my part in this stopped with the color selection and has continued on with regular prayer for them as they tackle this HUGE task. They are over at the house now, trying to finish things up tonight!

So that brings me to my next topic of discussion - Michael. My husband has been such a clear picture of Jesus Christ throughout the past several weeks. During my ER trip, incorporating all the life changes we’ve had to in order to keep me rested and relaxed, getting the paint and painting the WHOLE house, preparing to pack up and move (yes, we’re doing that in TWO weeks!), preparing to take me to our baby shower in Granbury this coming weekend (thankfully the doctor has cleared me for travel one last time before Abbie arrives), and everything in between! God has been graciously equipping Michael with all that he needs to stand up under the weightiness of our life right now, and I have been so abundantly blessed at Michael’s leadership, his peaceful and trusting attitude in the LORD, his diligence each day to make sure I’m taking it easy, his practical help in and around our home for daily tasks and moving preparation. Through all of it, he has remained gracious, patient, loving, hopeful, joy-filled, and Christ – exemplifying. I’ve been so humbled by his attitude and his gracious way of living through all of the ups and downs we’ve encountered! He’s going to be such a wonderful father. Not because he has it all figured out, but because he’s humble – recognizing his need for the Lord and faithfully searching God’s Word to find and apply the Scripture needed to help him be the godly husband and father God has called him to be, the kind of husband and father he wants to be. The longer we’re married, the more I see how gracious God has been to bless me with my husband. What a gift!

The next few weeks hold a few more milestones for us to get through – and we’re trusting the Lord for each step (and packed boxJ). February should be a relatively relaxing month. We’re working hard to keep it that way. Some of our anticipations for February include:

- Finishing Abigail’s nursery preparations (I’ll post all about her nursery and the color scheme we decided on soon, then I’ll post pictures of the finished result)

- Celebrating several birthdays (including mine)

- Unpacking!!!

- Taking our birthing class at the hospital

- And Praying the contractions stay at bay until March – then she can come J

So that’s the Skeen update in nutshell! We’re just past the 30 week mark, so only 10 more weeks to go! We’ll be 8 months in about 1 ½ weeks and I can hardly believe it! I’ve begun to experience enough discomfort at this point in the game to be ready for the end to get here quickly, but I’ve been learning how to have a patient and joy-filled heart during the waiting and I’m thankful for God’s daily grace. J

I’ve included just a few pictures from our Christmastime. After several days of rest and constant hydration I was finally feeling well enough to get on my feet and my sister graciously agreed to take a few maternity pictures for us! Here are a few:

Looking forward to being a more faithful blogger this year and documenting Abbie’s first year! Thanks for checking in. Check back soon for more details about her nursery and what God is doing in our lives!

May the God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace as you Trust in Him!

Michael, Kate, and Abigail J