Having Faith in God's Timing (Baby #2)

On our drive to Rexburg for my graduation in July, Ben and I talked about continuing to grow our family and when we would start trying to get pregnant with our next baby. I told him I was NOT ready and that I couldn't foresee being ready any time soon. My mind was filled with reasons why it was not the right time for us to have another baby yet and I didn't leave any room for reasons why it was (or could be). I felt like we were just getting into a good routine as a family of three and I was scared to change that! Maybe next year would be better.
At the end of that trip, we received a very clear "nudge" from God that we needed to move back to Rexburg so that Ben could finish his schooling there. As we began to make plans for moving, I started to grow nervous about having our next baby so far away from home. I did not have a good experience being pregnant with Ellie in Rexburg, to say the least. I was so scared to do it all over again, with a toddler, knowing we would be staying there for the entire pregnancy AND delivery. As we talked and prayed about it, it became clear that we might be getting pregnant sooner than I had anticipated so that we could spend the first trimester in St. George where we would have my parents' help. I was still a little nervous about getting pregnant again, but continued to pray. One day during this time we were driving home from the grocery store, over the red mountain overlooking St. George, and I suddenly had this immense peace come over me. This is the time. We should start trying soon. Everything will work out. And now you can let yourself be excited.
I was overcome! I can't even explain it other than that God has a plan that's much better than our own and there's a lot of peace that comes when we're finally ready to trust in that. My worries were still there but weren't paralyzing me from moving forward like they were before. Excitement flooded through me and took up all of the space that doubt had before. I had faith in God's plan and I knew that this was His timing.
Fast forward a week or so. Ben met with his academic advisor at Dixie and found out that he wouldn't be able to finish his associates this semester like he had been told. We would need to stay for one more semester if he wanted to leave Dixie with a degree (which makes transferring about a million times easier). As we talked about our options, we both felt sure that this was part of God's plan for us. Yes, we are supposed to move to Rexburg, but not until next summer when Ben will be able to transfer with his associates degree. Almost as soon as we realized this was the plan, we realized that we would (possibly) be able to have our next baby here in St. George before we move. BLESSINGS!! I LOVE my doctors here and I had an incredible experience delivering Ellie at the DRMC (our local hospital). We also have my wonderful parents here in St. George to help us. Having our next baby here would pretty much erase all of my apprehensions about getting pregnant again. God is so good. Too good. Why is He so good to us when we are so imperfect?! His love never ceases to astound me.
Looking back over the past couple of months, I can see His hand so clearly through it all. He slowly showed me that I was ready to have another baby and helped me to increase my faith in His plan until I was able to accept (and be extremely excited about) the fact that He wanted us to start trying literally NOW, as soon as the revelation hit.
I'm so grateful for Him. I know that as we live our life close to Him, it will turn out more beautifully than we ever could have designed on our own.
Fast forward a couple of months. On September 27th I woke up around 5 a.m. to help Ellie when she woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. Ben got up and headed to work around 6 and I was planning on taking a pregnancy test as soon as he was gone. However, Ellie was feeling extra clingy and wouldn't let me leave her. So, I brought her to my bed where I figured she could get a little more sleep. She slept until 9:40!!! So I laid there for almost four hours, DYING to get up and take a pregnancy test, but not wanting to leave her for fear she would fall out of the bed! As soon as she woke up, I rushed her to the bathroom with me. I took the test and promised myself I wouldn't look at it until the recommended three minutes had passed. Around minute two I just couldn't take it any longer so I snuck a peak and saw...... TWO LINES! I had to double check about ten times before it really hit me. "Ellie, you're going to be a big sister!!!!!" was the first thing out of my mouth :) I think she was pretty confused about why we were in the bathroom freaking out and celebrating first thing in the morning. I was literally shaking and couldn't get the huge smile on my face to leave (not that I wanted it to)! It took everything in me to be responsible and get Ellie some breakfast before I made my announcement to Ben that I had been planning for weeks. I knew that if I didn't tell him before he got home, he would instantly find out as soon as he saw me. I'm the worst secret keeper! So, I ordered a Hello Daddy onesie from our shop and addressed it to him with a special little note on the order. As soon as he saw the order come in (he was working at the bakery) he called me and we both had another little freak out session on the phone, haha.

We could not be more excited to grow our family. I know that there are a lot of changes ahead of us and that we're going to have to make a lot of sacrifices, but I'm excited to meet each turn with God's help and I know that they will all be for the best! We are so grateful that God has a plan specifically designed for our family, and that He's patient with us when we can't see it right away. We can't wait to welcome another one of His precious children into our forever family. This is what life is all about ♡