It's... a

-nother boy!

We were all shocked. Even Brandon thought it was a girl this time!

The best news of my appointment is that there is NO EVIDENCE of a subchorionic hemmorhage.

That is right...

NONE.

Praising the One I know and love!

There is still a need for prayer though. I have a marginal previa which means that the placenta is too close to the cervix. There is still plenty of time for it to move... well it doesn't really move, the uterus stretches and the placenta goes with the uterus.

Anywho, it does make me at risk for more bleeding and if it doesn't move, then I could need a repeat csection.

But I've been taken off of bedrest and told to take it easy. (No heavy lifting, etc.)

Once again, I'm surrendering this to God. He knows how our baby will come. Julianne needed a csection to get here safely. And as a mother, I'm willing to sacrifice my comfort and desires for my wee one.

Oh and his name is Isaiah.

A few months before I knew I was pregnant, we were studying a passage in Isaiah and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I love lots of passages in Isaiah. I told Brandon after service, that the name Isaiah really stuck with me. When we were scared we would lose our baby, several of my friends sent me verses from Isaiah and it again, made the hair on the back of my neck stand up... God is just soooo good like that!

My favorite passage, one I repeated several times a day on bedrest was from Isaiah is 40: 28-31.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men will stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. " (NIV)

Love that. What a powerful passage to those that are demoralized and weary.

Isaiah's middle name is Samuel.

1 Samuel 1:27 is often quoted.. but rarely do you hear the next verse with it.

"'I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him....' " - 1 Samuel 1:27

and then:

"So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.' And he worshipped the Lord there." - 1 Samuel 1:28.

What a powerful statement. One of surrender and trust. And faith. And worship!

Brandon and I have walked a long road so far. We've had trial after trial here lately, and we are still living joyfully in a relationship with God. But we realized that this baby isn't ours. He's the Lord's. We prayerfully hoped and prayed while surrendering... and what a sweet surrender that was.

I can't wait to see Mr. Isaiah Samuel. His story started before his birth... and I've already learned so much from him!

~Stephanie