God is at work...

It has been a very difficult but amazing week for the Steele family. I was so adamant about not going to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. I didn't want to make the 9 hour drive to and from and then turn around 3 weeks later to make the drive again for Christmas. My sister convinced me to come after begging and promising me some live in babysitting so that I could get some much needed rest. We drove to Atlanta last Saturday and arrived at my sister's home around 6:00 pm that night.
The next morning I went to brunch with my brother, Mom, Dad, and children. We all met back at Holly's that afternoon and put the kids down for nap. That is when I realized something was not quite right with the pregnancy. I asked my Mom and Dad to take me to Northside Hospital just to get things checked out and make sure nothing was wrong. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the ER finding out that Chris and I had lost our precious baby. For some reason only know to our Heavenly Father, He took the baby home to be with Him. I have cried many tears of pain and grief this week, especially because my wonderful husband is not able to be here with me. But in all the pain and hurt, God has blessed me with a heart of thanks. God made it possible to be here in Atlanta surrounded by my family during this difficult time. He has already blessed Chris and I with two beautiful children for which I am so very grateful. God has always been faithful and I know that he will continue to be. He knows what is best for our family, and I trust in Him completely.
Thanks to all of you for your well wishes and prayers. Our God is faithful and true, and He will get us through this tragedy.

One Last Hug for a While

It has been almost two weeks since Chris left. I've had my ups and downs, but we are slowly but surely getting the hang of things. I have spoken to him 3 times and he sounds good. He is extremely busy and sounds very positive about their mission and how things are going. The count down to June is officially on!

The kids and I have kept ourselves busy with Halloween and the regular schedule around here. Luke dressed up as Diego the Animal Rescuer and Hayley was his sidekick, Baby Jaguar! They had so much fun trick or treating. This year is the first one that they really understood what was going on. I could see the wheels turning after the first house we stopped at for a treat. Both of their eyes got so big as the candy was put into their bags, and they turned to look at me like, "Did you see that, Mommy! Free candy!"

This past week it was Parent Observation Day at gymnastics. Luke was so excited to show me all of the things that he has been learning. I was impressed with how well he listened to his teachers and could do most of the tricks pretty well. Hayley also had to show me her tricks, although I see them every week because her class is a Mommy and Me class.

I am looking forward to the Holidays. I cannot wait to go home to Atlanta and be with our family. Christmas always seem to make time go so fast and when January rolls around we will have 2 months under our belt and 5 more to go.

As far as the pregnancy goes, I think I am turning the sickness corner. I still feel pretty yucky in the evenings, but morning and middle of the day are getting back to normal. My instinct tells me that this one is a boy, but I thought that Hayley was a boy too. I was SOOOOO wrong about that! I'll just have to wait and see. I think that my ultrasound will be scheduled for the 2nd week in January. Very exciting.