18 Months

On Saturday this big guy turned 18 months old. After church on Sunday I decided to do a little photo shoot so that I could help myself remember how wonderful this little boy is at this age. 

Most days I feel like he is way to smart for his own good. Some days, words that I didn't think he understood just come out of his mouth with the proper usage. About a month a go Kyle and I tried to count how many words he could say and we stopped counting around 50. It seems like everyday he has learned something new.  There are also plenty if times when he can find himself in a situation that he just can't figure out how to get out of and has to fuss and whine about it. 

This is the face he gives when you tell him to smile or "say cheese."

One of his favorite activities is bug hunting. There are plenty of bugs around here to squish. Somehow he knows that ants are ok to kill with your finger but spiders you have to step on. Obie is a great study when it comes to the work that Kyle does around the house. His favorite "toy" is Kyle's power drill. 

These curls... um I love them. The ringlets are just getting longer and longer in the back but I can not imagine cutting them. 

Obie has always liked to play games but now he becomes the initiator of many. He can be very goofy. In the last two months his sleep has greatly improved and has been sleeping 11 hours straight without interruption. Recently he has cut his two upper eye teeth and is currently working on his lower eye teeth. We continue to see his desire for relational connection and love of people as long as there is no threat that mom or dad could leave him. He is really good at saying "no" and can display a good tantrum when he doesn't get his way. Time outs do have their effect on this boy who doesn't like to be left alone.

Most days I am just amazed by Obadiah and am so glad that I get to be his momma. On the hard days and on the great days Kyle and I are so thankful for him. 

Women of Grace

On Saturday we had the opportunity to be at church in the morning for a gathering of all the married people at our church. We are definitely a minority group in the church but it is great to come together and encourage each other in our marriages. It is also a good time to remember that we are setting examples for the majority of the rest of the church who are in university or working and watching us and how we work in our marriages. We enjoyed our time but had to leave a bit early to prepare for the "Women of Grace" that would be coming over to our house in the afternoon. 

The "Women of Grace" is the name for the fellowship (a monthly bible study) of women who are working and attending UCF. I try to attend their meetings as often as I can and many of the women in this group have become some of my closes friends over the last few years. We has so much fun together. I shared with them some passages of Scripture and I think everyone left very full stomachs after eating lunch and cake. 

I got my camera out a bit late after some had started to leave but I wanted to share some of these beautiful faces with you. 

I couldn't have done all the prep and entertaining if it weren't for Erin. She shared in the cooking, planning and cleaning up, in January she will be hosting the group at her house, we look forward to another time of good fellowship. 

What's in the name?

Baby number two already has a name! 

Thats because we know HER gender!

That's right, we are having a GIRL!

It seems early to find out the gender of our baby, and compared to normal practices in the states it is early. Our ultrasound technician is the same one we had with Obie and expressed with 100% confidence that we are having a girl (similar to the confidence she had when I was 14 weeks along with Obadiah). She went on to explain what she was able to see and why she had such confidence, most of it went over my head because I was trying to take in that we are having a girl. 

We are so excited to see how this little girl is growing healthy and strong, we praise Yahweh for the gift of this tiny little human. We have decided to name her:

Ella Jo Fox

The reason for Ella is twofold. Ella is Kyle's paternal grandmother's name. She was a woman who sought after the heart of Yahweh and most people knew her as a woman who had strong devotion to God's word. We love the family heritage that we have on both sides of our families and look forward to passing down this heritage to Ella. Additionally, Ella comes from German roots the meaning "other or set apart" and so this is our prayer for our daughter: that she would be set apart for the work of the Lord and always be grounded in his word. 

Jo for us is short for Joanna, which means "Yahweh is gracious." This needs no explanation but it is a wonderful reminder of the character Yahweh and something we want Ella to grow to understand. 

 We hope that you would join us in prayer for our daughter as she continues to grow in the next few months and in the years to come. I am thankful that morning sickness really has subsided and I am feeling pretty normal most days. You can be praying that we will be able to finalize in the next month or so the Dr. or midwife that will help me deliver. The midwife that delivered Obadiah may be out of the country by the time Ella make her appearance.