Baby Bumps, Smiles, and Mr. Flexible

Hi All,

We had some fun doing a little poll to see what people thought we were going to have and about 75% of the people thought girl. Nate and I had a feeling it was a boy. We even already have a boy name, but didn't have a girl name... so...

We were SO BLESSED yesterday to be able to see our precious miracle at the doctor's office. I couldn't stop thinking of the verses that talk about God forming our bodies and how He knows us intimately in our mother's wombs. Our little baby already knows the Lord and is so loved by Him. That's cool. I am in awe of how He works so carefully to form each and every aspect of children, of us. How He makes us just so. Oh, it was amazing. I cried :) and we were so excited to hear we are having little BOY! The ultrasound tech checked for all the usual: down syndrome, healthy heart, healthy spine, etc., etc. and reported that he looks great! She even remarked he is very flexible as you can see from his picture below. His legs are OVER his head. Crazy. Everything is wonderful. He's right on track for growth and well, we think he's just wonderful already.

We're pretty pumped that Sheldon (Nate's brother) and Mindi's little boy will have a playmate in just a matter of months and that he will have more than just girls on this side to play with :) Please pray for Mindi - she's overdue and wants that little boy to come out!

Nate's a proud papa of course. WE ARE HAVING A BOY!

We went out last night to celebrate by going to Five Guys (if you've never been there, you should go... it's super yummy junk food, I mean, burgers and fries :)). We went to the park and ate as we watched birds flying around the water. It was peaceful and relaxing.

This pregnancy has gone so well and we are so grateful for God's provision to us and the way He has kept us all healthy. I was told yesterday that this "cold" I've had for the past two weeks is part of pregnancy - bad allergies mixed with hormones means not breathing through my nose just might be part of my life for a while :) and I'm okay with that. God has given me so much grace to remain in a good mood and has blessed me with a very loving husband who takes good care of us.

We do have one prayer request for our little boy. The midwife called us yesterday after looking over the ultrasound and said the only thing she can see is an issue is that his umbilical cord has two vessels instead of three, so he may have some problems growing well. But right now he's in the 70th percentile, so we're not worried. We believe God will grow him just right. The upside of this is that we get to see him again at week 28 (they'll do a followup ultrasound to make sure he's growing well). From the size of my belly, I FEEL like he's growing really well ;)

Nate just returned from a trip to the south to help close up some projects for the summer and to move vehicles around. It was a harder trip than normal for me, as I sensed some intense warfare and felt a greater urge than ever to pray and boy, did I need to! But God is good and I'm married to an incredibly strong man who relies on the Lord. I'm so proud of him!

Work for me continues to plug along at an alarming pace! Sometimes my head spins and my boss Tefera reminds me that I can only do what I can do, which is so freeing. God is moving in the nations and I am now privileged to work with 146 programs worldwide. Amazing.

So that's our post with some pictures - thanks for praying for us and being on this journey with us!

We love you,

The Hoovers