She's HERE!!

Jericho Joy Goodson was born Monday morning, August 27th at 2:22 am weighing 7lbs 4oz and measuring 20 inches long. We are both doing great and resting at home now. Jericho is such a blessing and joy to have at home. Please stay tuned and more pictures and stories are sure to come.

Perspective

The Lord has once again humbled me by putting things in perspective. I don't always enjoy when this happens, yet I'm always grateful for the reminder. I'm due in a little over a week and I have found myself getting very crabby at times, especially with my husband, for no good reason, but the fact that I'm still pregnant. It's not that I don't enjoy being pregnant I actually LOVE being pregnant! I'm not even that uncomfortable. It's just that I want this little girl in my arms and sometimes when I don't get my way I get crabby. I've always had a hard time waiting for God's timing instead of my own. Just when I think I'm getting the hang of waiting on the Lord, I find myself failing His tests once again. Such as having patience when it comes to the birth of this baby girl. Patience is the last thing I've had the last few days, but after receiving this email from a friend I've been humbled and I realize what a blessing it is to be in my position awaiting the arrival of a healthy baby. The Lord has once again put things in perspective for me.

This is the email I received. I've taken out my friends names and just called them Mr. & Mrs. S. for privacy reasons and I added the links that my friend was talking about. My friend has a one year old daughter and is pregnant with her 2nd. She was going to have a routine 2nd trimester ultrasound and this is the news she and her husband received during that appointment. Please be praying for them!

My husband and I went to have our first scan done at 20 weeks just two days ago. The baby's feet, hands, arms, legs, heart, bladder, kidneys, and spine are all perfect. The head however is potentially malformed because of a neural tube defect. The sonographer and midwife suspect some form of spina bifida and anencephaly (Please just search them on wikipedia.com, I can't handle explaining it). Please stand with us in prayer for our son - Joshua Matthew. We go in for more, and higher-tech scans next week. With this present diagnosis and without a miracle, our son will not live past his first 24 hours. Thank you so much everyone. We love you all - Mr. & Mrs. S and family

Be BIG!

The shirt says it all!

I love this shirt! It holds some very precious memories for me. I used to wear it all the time when I was pregnant for Gideon. I remember thinking how cute the shirt would be when I had a huge pregnant belly. It never happened when I was pregnant for Gideon. However, this was the shirt I was wearing when I got to hold my sweet boy for the first. Early on in this pregnancy, when I would wear the shirt, I would wonder if I would ever make it far enough in the pregnancy to have a huge pregnant belly. Oh how I hoped and prayed that I would! I looked forward to wearing this shirt and to have my swollen abdomen pulling it at all sides. Well, I've made it and I couldn't be happier. Praise the Lord!

Playing The Pregnancy Card

I love baking. I bake from scratch no boxes here. I love trying new desserts and perfecting old ones. When we have a potluck or get together with friends and we get to pick what to bring I always sign up for dessert. It's easy for me. If I have to actually cook anything for anyone besides my husband I start stressing; it's not a pretty sight. In my opinion baking is so much easier than cooking. I try not to bake to often for just Seth and I so I get excited when we have some place to go and I get to bring something because it gives me an excuse to bake. Well, I think tonight was the first time in my life that I was supposed bake something to take to a friends house and I didn't. I went grocery shopping during the day and by the end of my trip I knew I wasn't going to go home and bake. I just didn't have it in me. So, I bought some cookies. I can't believe it! I didn't even get a box mix and make it I went straight for the already made stuff. I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. But you can bet I'm definitely playing the pregnancy card this time!

Tarah had a little lamb

For the last 3 days I have felt like Mary. No, not Mary from the Bible. Mary from the nursery rhymes who had a little lamb. My little lamb doesn't have fleece as white as snow, but he does follow me where ever I go. This is what my little lamb looks like

I don't know how but Gamba can definitely tell change is in the air. As I said before he hasn't left my side in 3 days. If he is sleeping or playing in the same room as me and I go to a different room he's right on my heels. It's not good enough that he's in the same room as me Gamba literally wants, no has, to be right next to me. If I let him he would be on my lap although I don't think he could fit right now! It reminds me of when we first brought him home as a puppy. It was quite a few weeks before he left my side back then. There have been many times that I've missed that puppy following me around, so I've actually enjoyed the last few days.

I still have 2 weeks until my due date but I'm wondering if Gamba can sense something that we can't and this baby will be here sooner than we thought. But then again maybe that's just wishful thinking!

Baby Extras

I've had many people ask me what we still need for the baby. I'm always at a loss for words when they ask because honestly, I don't know. We have everything we need in order to bring her home: car seat, diapers, bassinet, and clothes. To me these are necessities, well not the bassinet, but you need something for the baby to sleep in and for now that is what we choose to use. It seems that anything else is really an "extra"

We have many "extras" but there are some other "extras" that I wouldn't mind getting. My problem is how do you know if what you buy will be worth it or not? I hate buying something and then not using it. My friend Andrea got me thinking about some of these "extras" the main one being a sheepskin. I've never heard of it till I read Andrea's post and now I'm seriously considering getting one for the baby. Here are a few other things that I've been thinking about getting a swaddler blanket although I heard about this miracle blanket that might work better. Some sort of wrap or sling, a pack'n'play, and maybe a sound machine. We also need to get a high chair. I don't really know where to start. With only 2 weeks left in the pregnancy I guess I'm feeling a little overwhelmed when it comes to what else we'll need. If you have any advice on what worked for you or what didn't let me know!

Unknown Danger

This afternoon I was sitting inside peacefully reading a book when I hear our beagle, Gamba, howling. This is nothing new since we live in the country and there are many things that make him howl, but he usually stops howling after whatever it was that caught his attention is no longer in sight. We are hoping to put an invisible fence in so he can freely run but for now he stays tied up. Because he stays tied up, we have all sorts of critters that freely roam our 3 acres and drive poor Gamba nuts. Anyway, back to the story. So, after trying to ignore the puppy but realizing that he wasn’t going to stop howling anytime soon I decide to go see what he was making such a fuss about. This is what I came out to.




Gamba is at the very end of his rope trying to claw his way to this poor baby bird. Despite all his efforts Gamba still cannot reach the baby bird so he resolves to more howling.

The baby bird had no idea how much danger he could have been in. He wasn’t afraid of Gamba although he should have been. All the bird knew was that the thing making all the racket couldn't get to him. The baby bird thought he was safe. I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing.

As I was watching the whole thing take place I felt like the Lord said, “Tarah, look at that baby bird. He has no clue how much danger he was really in. How many times have you been that baby bird only to have me rescue you from danger you didn’t even know existed. I’ve protected you so many times because you are my child and I love you.” As I thought about this, I can’t help but think about the child growing in my womb. It makes me wonder how many times I will keep her from harm when she doesn’t even know harm exists. Then it makes me wonder about all the times that the Lord has used my parents, or friends, or siblings, or my husband to protect me from unknown harm. I am glad to be a child of God and have the protection of my Master’s hands weather seen or unseen.

Extended Anniversary. . .

Breath taking!

That is what today felt like. Yesterday went out to eat and then went to a drive in movie. Nothing big for our anniversary but it was nice. We needed something low key and relaxing this year. Today felt like and extension of yesterday and it was wonderful!

Beautiful!

Seth has been on a missions trip to Rochester (only 25 min from us) since Sunday but he's been able to come home for my doctors appointment earlier in the week and our anniversary yesterday. Today they took the kids to a near by state park and I decided to tag along. I'm so glad I did!

We had FUN!

They had trails that you could walk up. The trail we went on was along the creek and took us by some swimming holes and a few different waterfalls. Seth and I got to walk and talk and just enjoy God's beautiful creation. I look forward to going back.

I can't believe he talked me into this!

The only thing I would have done differently is to bring clothes to swim in. I didn't know we would be able to swim so I didn't bring anything. Not the worst thing but I definitely worked up a sweat hiking and a dip in the cool refreshing water would have been nice. I'll have to remember that next time we visit.

3 down only 97 more to go

It amazes me how God brings people together. Who would have thought that an Alabama boy and an Illinois girl, would find each other in Missouri, fall in love, get married, and end up in New York. Seth and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary yesterday. A few weeks into our marriage Seth informed me that it was his personal goal to be married to me for 100 years. We got married fairly young so he thought this was a very reachable goal. When he told me this he wanted to know if I was game. I was a little more hesitant than he was partly because I'm not as goal oriented as he is and partly because it had only been a few weeks and I wasn't to sure what I was getting myself into. Well, after being married to him for 3 years I've decided to do everything in my power to make it to that 100 year mark! I've seen him in good times and bad and I can tell you that I like what I've seen. He's a faithful friend, wonderful daddy, an amazing pastor, a great husband, and most of all a solid man of God. Spending 100 years by his side would make me a very happy women. Don't get me wrong we're not limiting ourselves to just 100 years. We are both willing to go beyond that but we figure you gotta set your sights somewhere. I've been so blessed spending these last 3 years with Seth, I can't wait to see what the next 97 years hold for us!



I found this quote after I posted this and had to add it. I couldn't agree more.

Getting married wasn't about settling down or having stability; it was about joining forces for an adventure neither of us could have alone. It was like standing at the edge of a cliff with rushing water beneath us. We were happy, terrified — and against all expectations, we jumped. But we were holding hands, and even if we were falling fast, we were together. Are together.

-Elissa Schappell

I'm Ready!

Gideon's teddy's with her blankie!

I love the lamp!

Everyone keeps asking me if I'm ready for the baby to come. YES! I am so ready to meet this little girl! I am due 3 weeks from today. I know, I know, I might still have awhile before I get to meet her, but I'm ready whenever she is. My bags are packed, the car seat is ready, the bassinet is in our room and stocked and as you can see the nursery is pretty much all set up. I still need to have Seth fix a few of the knobs on the drawers and hang the comforter. I think I'm going to get little lady bug quilt clips and hang it over the changing table. Other than that I'm ready!

The crib and matching dressers are the ones that Seth and I got for Gideon. I like knowing that all of our children will get to use his crib even though he never did. There are many things through out our house that are Gideon's or things that remind us of him. The same goes for Grace. If you were to walk through our house you probably wouldn't even notice half of them. I like that. It almost feels like they left some toys out or something. Just like there will be traces of this baby girl all over the house when she gets here; there are already traces of her brother and sister before her. I'm so thankful!

Corn Festival

Seth and I went to the Avon Corn Festival today. It was like any other festival. They had live music, good food, and a million vendors trying to sell you anything and everything. We took the puppy, which if you've ever meet him you know it's a very risky thing to do. He is a beagle and he really likes people and other dogs, plus he's not even 2yrs old yet. Gamba is a very good dog but we never know if he is going to be good or try to jump on every little kid that walks by or howl at all the other dogs there. I'm not sure what made us take him, but we did. Guess what; he did wonderful!


We enjoyed walking around and looking at everything. We almost bought a hammock. We have the perfect spot in our back yard for one and have been thinking about getting one for awhile now, but we didn't. We haven't done enough research on them to see if we could get a better deal somewhere else. If you've gotten a hammock lately and got a good deal on it let me know.


The other thing that we almost got was a key chain with the baby's name on it. Sorry we're still not telling you the name! Well, I thought about getting it more than Seth did. There was a guy that made these key chains out of wood and he hand carved the names. It was the coolest thing. I wish I would have taken a picture so I could have put it on here but I'm still getting use to this blogging thing and part of getting used to is is taking pictures of stuff!


We had a wonderful time today I just wish that I had a dollar for every time someone looked at me (because I'm 9 months pregnant) and asked if it was a good idea if I were walking around. I think we'd have enough money saved up for he college education!

Camp Fun!

This is our second year in kids ministry and since Seth is the children's pastor we get to benefit from the traditions of the ministry. At our church every year we send kids up to Camp Shiloh for the week and they love it. Last year Seth and I got to go up for the whole week and we had a blast!

Last Year

Because of my present circumstances we only got to go up for the day yesterday, but what a day it was! Some of our favorite traditions at camp have become the mud slip'n'slide and watermelon football.

Look at him Go!

Two thumbs WAY up!

To play watermelon football you must have a watermelon covered in crisco, a pool or lake or some type of body of water which is the field, and people. Keep in mind that these people must enjoy being pushing and shoving in the water, not being able to find or hold onto the ball, getting covered in crisco, and having a blast! I highly recommend playing sometime.

Get Ready,

get set,


GO!


Seth scored!

I can't wait till next year when I will get to play again!

Is this your first?

Every time someone asks me this question I struggle with how to answer. For most pregnant women this is a very simple yes or no answer, but not for me. If I answer, "No this is not my first pregnancy it is actually my third." Then I usually have to explain that I've had a miscarriage and that my son was born at 26 weeks and died soon after he was born, but it's not that easy or that fun to do so.

Grace was my first and I lost her to a miscarriage at 16 weeks. Then my son, Gideon Uriah, was born 14 weeks early and never left the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.) He died when he was only 6 weeks old. I had major problems and had to be on complete bed rest with both pregnancies. As precaution for this pregnancy I was on bed rest for the first 6 months, praise the Lord that I have had no problems with this one!

When I start getting into the explanation of what happened people start apologizing like there was something they could have done to prevent it. My thoughts on this are please don't apologize because it's not your fault. God was and is in control. He knew what was going to happen. He is the author of life and death and no one else. I am thankful for the time that I had with my first two babies and at the same time look forward to many years with this baby girl.

If they don't apologize they usually feel sorry for Seth and I. When people start feeling sorry for us it is because they see only the negative in the situation. Seth and I see the positive in the position that the Lord placed us in. We have some wonderful memories of Gideon, a pretty good birth story, and we made some life long friends in the process. There are many more positive but one of the best is that while in the NICU we got to lead a family to the Lord! I believe that we will be better parents to our future children because of what we went through with Grace and Gideon. Even though it has been hard it has strengthened our relationship with each other and with God. We know that no matter what happens God is good and He is always faithful!

The other answer I could give is a simple, "Yes" which is hard because it feels like a lie because I have other babies they are just in heaven, but in many ways this is our first. It is the first baby that we will get to bring home from the hospital. She will be the first that Seth gets to hold (I only got to hold Gideon once and Seth never did.) This baby will be the first that I get to nurse and rock to sleep. I could list a million other things that we will get to do with her for the first time and we can't wait. So is it a lie to simply answer yes? I don't know, but it is a question that both Seth and I have struggled with the whole pregnancy.

Why Blog?

This is why!

None of our family lives close and I am due in 4 weeks, what better reason to start a blog! I'll be able to post cute pictures and stories of my life as a stay at home mom and maybe my family won't feel so far away. I'm hoping to post on a regular basis but with a baby on the way we'll see what really happens; only time will tell! I'd love to hear what you have to say so don't forget to comment and let me know what your thinking.