Last Minute Decision

Thank you so much to those of you who have been praying for our sweet baby. We had our 20 week checkup and ultrasound yesterday, and our baby is doing great! Praise the LORD!!

Ryan and I have had some dear friends over the years who have chosen to wait to find out the gender of their baby until the day the child is born. The more we talked to them about it, the more excited we became about doing the same. Therefore, Ryan and I have both been pretty adamant for a couple years now that if the Lord were to bless us with a child, that we would wait to find out what we were having.

When we found out in January that we were pregnant, that was still our plan. In fact, that was our plan until about 12:45pm yesterday. At that time, we began to waiver. Our ultrasound was at 1pm, so that didn't leave us much time at all to make a decision. It was crazy that we were contemplating this--afterall, we had both been certain we wanted to wait. However, when faced with the reality and temptation that we could know what the gender was, we caved. So, we now know what we are having!

I will soon post pictures of the ultrasound and let you know what we are having, but first, I wanted to see what everyone else thinks. Is Baby Bishop a boy or a girl? Please comment with your vote.

My Grandparents Visit

Ryan and I were blessed to have my grandparents visit us from Colorado last weekend. We hadn't seen them since my optometry school graduation 3 years ago, so it was definitely time to see them again.

While they were here, we went to the National Cathedral, as well as drove by several monuments and memorials. Most of the time, though, was just spent hanging out. Once again, I didn't take that many pictures, but it was a precious time nonetheless.

We love you, Grandpa and Grandma! Thanks for coming to visit us.

Our DC Apartment

I know we've been here almost 4 months, now, but I'm finally posting pictures of our home here in DC.

Our Apartment
(An old photo--we haven't had any snow in quite awhile)



Living Room












Kitchen

Dining Room/Laundry Room














Spare Bedroom

Our Bedroom

Baby Stuff

I know I've been bad about posting stuff, so for those of you who keep asking, here are a couple of pregnancy pics:









11.5 weeks













18.5 weeks




Also, here's a picture of our sweet baby from our first ultrasound at 9.5 weeks. The doctor took several pictures that were much better, but for some reason, the one we were given wasn't very good. Anyway, a precious baby nonetheless--looks a bit like a peanut or a jelly bean. :)


We go for our next ultrasound a week from tomorrow, so hopefully we'll have more pictures and maybe even another video to post then. We do not want to know the gender yet and are looking forward to that surprise when Baby Bishop arrives in September.

I was reminded recently of a very important lesson. The gift of a child is so very precious, and I know I've really struggled with remembering that "our" baby belongs to the Lord, not to us. I am so blessed to be the vessel that God is using to carry this child, but I must daily remind myself that this sweet baby is His. I pray that God would use our baby in whatever way He deems best to bring glory and honor to His name.

Spring in D.C.

...is absolutely beautiful! I am so amazed at God's glory as I look around at all the gorgeous flowers and trees.

I was excited when we first found out we would be coming to D.C. in the spring because it meant we would be able to see the famous cherry blossoms. And they definitely did not disappoint!



How great is our God to use seasons to make us appreciate Him more! I'll admit that winter definitely starts to wear on me, but then when the bright blossoms start popping up everywhere, my goodness, it's such a gift! I know if I was able to see these beautiful flowers all the time that I would lose my appreciation of them.

Friends Come to Visit!

Though our time in DC has been wonderful, it's been difficult to be away from our friends in Louisville. Thankfully, both the Sosebees and the Pattersons have made trips out here to visit us.

The Sosebees came the first weekend in March, and the Pattersons came the last weekend in March. Both weekends were so refreshing and were a great opportunity for fun and fellowship. It was really sad to see them go, but we know we'll be back with them again really soon!

Thank you, sweet friends, for taking the time to come visit us. We miss you so much!

(Sorry there aren't many pictures. For some reason, I've gotten really lazy about bringing my camera with me, but I'm trying to get better.)

What a Year!

Happy anniversary, my Love! I can't express to you what a joy it is to be your wife! It amazes me how quickly the last 7 years have gone. It seems like just yesterday that we were united as one, but at the same time, I can't remember life without you.

You are such a wonderful example of a godly husband, constantly striving to love me as Christ loved the church. I know I don't always make your job easy, but thank you for your leadership and for your sacrificial love.

We began year 7 of marriage in Niger. Remember how excited the Songhai believers were when you told them it was our sixth anniversary!? Such a blessing it was to watch you teach those new Christians truth. That trip certainly changed our lives! We are ending year 7 of marriage in DC. Who would have ever dreamed we would end up here!? What a whirlwind this last year has been!

Some milestones in the last year:

•Niger
•Michigan
•Infertility
•CHBC Weekender (road trip to DC!)
•Accepted into the CHBC internship
•Accepted into the SBTS PhD program
•Graduation
•Bought a car
•Sold a car
•Moved to Washington, DC
•Nuevo Vallarta
•Pregnancy
•First ultrasound
•Huge spiritual growth at CHBC
•Trip to Texas to be with Ryan's dad in his last days
•Ryan's dad passed away






This last year hasn't always been easy, but it has been full of rich blessings from God. I love you now more than ever, Ryan, and I eagerly anticipate what the Lord has in store for us in the year to come.

ETA: 9-8-09

Ryan and I found out while we were in Mexico that we were pregnant and are beyond excited. We are currently twelve weeks along, and our baby is apparently the size of a large lime.


Ryan and I have been praying for quite some time that the Lord would bless us with a child. It was very difficult waiting, but it was a wonderful opportunity to learn to trust in His sovereignty and timing.

Thank you so much for all of you who have been praying for us as we have waited on God’s timing in this. It's such a testimony to His faithfulness to those who pray! Please continue to keep us in your prayers—pray that God would protect our unborn child and that He would be glorified in this precious baby.

We had our first prenatal appointment a couple weeks ago and were so blessed to get to hear our baby's heartbeat as well as to get to see our baby through an ultrasound.

It was by far one of the most amazing experiences of our lives! We were able to see the little heart beating within our baby's body. The doctor then repositioned things so we could see the baby from the front. It was incredible! Both of the baby's arms and both legs were just moving around constantly. It looked like our sweet baby was dancing for us!

Anyway, here are a couple videos that Ryan took with his cell phone. On the first one, you can hear the heartbeat, on the second one, if you look closely enough, you can see our baby's arms and legs moving around. I'm sorry for the quality--it was much better in person. By the way, I'm also sorry they're sideways--I don't know how to rotate the videos (or make them bigger) in Blogger. :)

Internship by Wordle

Matt Merker, my fellow intern at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, has been apprising family and friends about his experience through Wordle. Specifically, Matt pastes the content of his papers into Wordle, which creates a word cloud that accentuates the most prominent words from his manuscript.

Because we're kept pretty busy here and steady updates would be difficult, I will follow Matt. From now on, I will post a Wordle for some of my papers. This first Wordle is for my baptism paper, in which we considered the Bible's presentation of baptism and how it relates to age, circumcision, church membership, and communion.

Our New Header Photo Says It All...

West Wing Tour

One of the church members named Mike (who served on Bush's administration) gave Ryan and I, along with a couple of other interns, the opportunity to tour the West Wing last week. We were excited that we were able to do it while Bush was still in office.

Unfortunately, pictures were only allowed to be taken outside and in the press room.


It was really neat to see these rooms where so many important decisions are made. We were also able to see the Oval Office, which was neat. President Bush's Bible was sitting out on his desk, and Mike, our tour guide, said it was sitting in a different place than it was earlier. It is just comforting to know that our President is seeking to follow God's will, not his own.






Mike provided lots of great information to make the experience much more meaningful. One of our favorite parts was the pictures they had up all over of Bush. Mike said they change most of them out regularly to reflect the things Bush has been doing. Some of my favorite pictures included:

•President Bush dancing with Laura at the Inaugural Ball, giving someone in the background a thumbs up
•President Bush standing on the rubble at Ground Zero calling out that the whole world would soon here from us
•Bush addressing the nation from the Oval Office after 9-11
•Bush loving on some of the people in Africa
•Bush cycling with Lance Armstrong (apparently he is really big into riding his bike and is in really, really good shape--the Secret Service guys have a hard time keeping up)
•Bush apparently will cut down trees at his Crawford ranch to create new bike trails, so his staff gave him a chainsaw with the Presidential seal on it
•Bush with his puppies
•Bush sitting at his desk in the Oval Office with his dad looking on proudly

There were lots more great pictures, but Ryan and I both walked away from that tour with a much greater appreciation for what our President has done for us over the last eight years, as well as for the man that he seems to be.

Happy Birthday, My Love!

My sweet husband turned 31 one week ago today. Unfortunately, because of our very hectic schedules, we have yet to really celebrate his big day, and I'm also just now writing this post.

I finally baked Ryan a cake last night, but when I went to make the frosting, I realized I didn't have nearly enough powdered sugar. This is pretty consistent with how unsmoothly the last week and a half have gone. (Lots of forgetting stuff that we need at stores, arriving at stores only to realize we left our wallet at home, leaving for work without an address to enter into our GPS, etc.)

Ryan, as most of you know, is incredible! He is this perfect package of so many wonderful, wonderful things. Anyway, I just wanted to take a few minutes to dote on him.

Here are a few of my favorite things about Ryan:

•He is a strong man of God, who continually seeks to sharpen himself and those around him. He has been granted so much wisdom, especially in the last few years. It has been amazing to watch God grow him in preparation for our life in ministry.

•He can always make me laugh. I often think about how blessed I am to have been given a marriage that is full of laughter. Our home is such a happy place when he's here.


•He is extremely handsome. Sometimes I just stop in the middle of a conversation with Ryan because it hits me that God has allowed this man to be my husband!


•He cares so deeply for others and often gives so unselfishly to bless them.

•He has a deep desire to really get to know people--where they've come from, their testimony, their hearts. I think this is a trait that is unique to Ryan.

•He is a model husband, and I believe God has used Ryan in this area to help many Christian men to understand how to better care for their wives. Ryan loves and cares for me so well!

•He's brilliant and is always SO GOOD at everything he does! Whether at school, games, writing, etc., Ryan always excels.


I could certainly go on and on about how great my husband is, but I'll leave it at this. Ryan, I want you to know that I adore you and am so thankful for the gift God has given me in you. Happy birthday, my Love!

Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

Ryan and I were blessed to be able to celebrate his graduation and birthday in Nuevo Vallarta for a week, which is about 15 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta. If you read our previous post, you'll know that December was absolutely insane, so we were so thankful for an opportunity to relax.



















We spent the vast majority of the week resting by the pool or on the beach. Our hotel has one of the largest pools in Latin America, so there was lots to do. They even had a Lazy River, two Wave Pools and a waterslide. Our favorite, though, was just laying in a cabana and reading.


We went to Puerto Vallarta one afternoon to see the Boardwalk. While we were walking around, we came across this large sand-sculpture Nativity scene. It was so neat! I can't imagine how long it took to make it. We had dinner that night with a wonderful view of the sun setting over the ocean.

December through February is whale watching season at that part of Mexico. Humpback whales return to this area every year to mate and give birth. It was amazing to catch glimpses of these enormous creatures.




Our time was great and very relaxing, and we praise the Lord for allowing us to see another part of His beautiful creation!

Our Last Month in Review

This last month was exceptionally busy for us, and I want to apologize for not doing a good job of keeping up with people, replying to emails, etc. I hope to be better at this as we get settled into life here in DC.

A summary of the last month's events:

•Ryan's finals
•Hosted a Pampered Chef party
•Sunday school Christmas party
•Ryan's graduation!
•Ryan's graduation party
•Ladies' Christmas gift exchange
•College graduation party (for a girl I worked with)
•Busiest time of year at work
•Bought a car
•Packing
•Christmas
•Ryan reading books and writing papers to prepare for internship
•Sold our car
•More packing
•The Graigs moved into our house
•Last day of work (on New Year's Eve)
•We loaded up our car and a rented mini-van to move out of our house
•Wonderful dinner with the Hamiltons
•Drove to DC (on New Year's Day)
•Unloaded our car and van
•Went to bed
•Left first thing the next morning for Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
•Ryan's graduation/birthday trip
•Returned to life in DC
•Began internship and work
•Ryan's birthday

Needless to say, it's been a whirlwind of a month, and our time in DC thus far has been the same. We've been here a week now. Last Friday I unpacked while Ryan worked on a paper. Saturday was spent running errands. Almost all day Sunday was spent at church. Monday through Thursday I worked while Ryan was at his internship, and we haven't gotten home before 10:00pm this week. There's been lots going on, but we're really enjoying it. We even got to tour the West Wing Wednesday night, which I'll write more about later.