tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78652817877769570372024-02-21T06:43:48.030-06:00For the Beautyelizabeth gregory brownElizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-26472864045410487182015-05-29T13:43:00.001-05:002015-05-29T13:47:09.235-05:00Aaron Uriah<div style="font-family: Helvetica;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">On May 3rd, we had a miscarriage. We only knew we were pregnant for two weeks, it was very early, but we were both hit hard by how difficult this loss actually was. Early doesn’t mean easy. It has taken us a few weeks to come to a place where we can get our hearts around what happened.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>1 Chronicles 16:36 “Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good! His steadfast love endures forever!”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">These things are absolute truth. Our circumstances do not change this. It would have been easy to be angry at God, and I definitely have had my moments. It would have been easy to change my theology for the sake of comfort. (<i>“This must have been God’s will”</i>) This would only have resulted in damaging my trust in Him. Holding God at a distance seemed less painful than thinking He is close and not intervening. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">But we were given a choice. We could turn away, or turn toward. We chose toward. We chose to worship. We chose to stand on the Truths that we know supersede our circumstances. We chose an eternal perspective. We chose to press in and wrestle for a new grasp on his promises.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">While the miscarriage was happening, I was given a name and a scripture for our baby. As believers, it is impossible to write off this early miscarriage as not a person. It is impossible to not grieve the loss of our child. I wrestled with this because I was afraid that a name would mean causing more grief than I wanted to feel. But the truth of the matter, in my heart, I know I lost a child. Not a potential child, but a legitimate, full human life on this earth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A day before, a friend told me she had a dream about us sharing the name of our son and why we chose that name and that it started with an “A”. She said the dream was so real that she actually went to my Facebook page and looked for the post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I was reading my bible the morning after we went to the ER and this passage stood up from the page like it was alive: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>1 Chronicles 23:13… “Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s presence, to serve the Lord, and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Now, I did not take this to mean that the whole purpose of conceiving and losing our child was so that they would be in heaven. I do not believe that losing our child was God’s will. This verse was instead a comfort, a promise of our child’s realness and purpose beyond our own understanding. That our child’s loss is redeemed in some way in eternity because they are now ministering directly to Jesus and blessing from heaven. Something we all will do someday. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Austin was given a name as well, Uriah. The story of Uriah is tragic. He was a righteous, loyal man of integrity and in spite of this, his life ended in murder. This may seem like a strange thing, but it again was a reminder of an ETERNAL perspective. When something bad happens to a good person, it is not THEIR fault, punishment, or some sort of twisted game of God. Bad things do happen to good people because this is life outside the garden. This world is broken. It is not God’s will. There is mystery beyond my understanding in this but I do know that the truth of God’s character is not changed by this. When all else is beyond my ability to understand, I must choose to stand on what I do know, which is my relational knowledge of God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>1 Chronicles 16:36 “Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good! His steadfast love endures forever!”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">God also has given us hope beyond circumstance and promises that we cling to. I am thankful for the way he has used other people to bless us abundantly during this time and also an opportunity to learn how to receive ministry from his heart and church. Grief may not be a time to pour out into others, but a time to receive. And of course, although I wish very much the circumstances were different, I am grateful to see God’s redemption at work, walking us deeper into his steadfast love and mystery. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In a strange way, eternity has become more tangible. And that is a powerful hope. </span></div>
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<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1 Chronicles 16:36 “Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good! His steadfast love endures forever!”</span></i></div>
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Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-73736250837911862712014-12-30T14:20:00.001-06:002014-12-30T14:20:31.618-06:00Thoughts<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Just a little bit of what's on my heart lately. </span><br />
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I watched a sunrise yesterday morning and felt really connected to God as I watched the blood red sky brighten like it did when I was out praying on the beach. My heart prayed "God, I want more" and I felt very clearly him say "Me too". I knew<br />that the ache I felt for him was also the ache he feels for me. I want more but I have to give him more. How do I offer my life to him? Since he already offered his for me?<div>
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Deep calls to deep. I want more. I want to see God the way he says he is, I want to see myself the way he says I am. But my daily offering comes first. Or rather, they happen together. My life deepens with knowing God. The small things don't diminish but grow deeper. There are a lot of big things about God I'm desiring to see, a reality I'm hoping for, and stepping into that doesn't mean leaving what I know behind. I'm not completing levels of some sort of game where you move on, wash your hands and start a new thing. This all sounds so obvious as I'm writing it, but I forget these things sometimes. </div>
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I may not know the next "big" step, but I do know I'm called to serve and love my family, my neighbor, you. I want to dream big dreams while not missing the significance of the moment I'm in. <div>
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What do I know? </div>
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Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. </div>
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All the promises of God find their YES in him (Jesus). </div>
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There's more. </div>
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I want congruence in my life. I'm seeing this really big vision of who God is, and I want my life to match that belief. I want the love I have for others to be as deep as the bigness of the God I love. I want the smallest task in my day to be the biggest act of worship. Nothing is insignificant. No one, no thing, no act. </div>
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"Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known he mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that he should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen" (-Romans 11:33-36)</div>
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Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-52868675883319632462014-02-25T14:38:00.000-06:002014-02-25T14:38:04.680-06:006 monthsI can't believe my baby girl is six months old. Her little (big!) personality is delightful and I am so lucky to get to witness her every day.<br />
Sure, some days I get restless, lonely, but for the majority of the time I am so thankful that I am doing what I am doing.<br />
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Right now, I'm sitting in my driveway stealing a few quiet moments to write while A is asleep in her seat.<br />
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Blessed.<br />
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We are so blessed.<br />
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Lord, help me see, help me walk in gratitude and not miss the miracle of each moment.<br />
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A is stirring...she's awake.Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-31002289426282692182014-01-10T16:07:00.000-06:002014-01-10T16:07:35.181-06:00One Year since our lives changedI wrote the following a while ago and decided to put it here for safe keeping:<br />
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Dear Avery,<br />
It's midnight on Christmas Day, and you are asleep next to me after a very full holiday!<br />
My heart is full and tender at the new eyes I see everything with through you. Christmas was so much deeper and joyful because of you this year.<br />
But this is actually the second Christmas that you have made special to me.<br />
Last year, on the day after Christmas, we found out about you. We cried and laughed and hugged and dreamed. And waited. We waited and waited! And in perfect time , you came. None of our dreams even compare to the wonderful reality of having you in our lives and hearts.<br />
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You are only four months old (today in fact!) and Christmas probably just seemed like too much noise and activity, I know we wore you out, but there were priceless moments in the bustle of the day. First of all on the 23rd you laughed...I mean laughed! You laughed at your daddy eating chips. And to us, you might as well have won the Olympics, I've never been so thrilled in my life at that sweet sound. That glorious joy bubbled up in you and spilled out in music to my ears.<br />
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You didn't understand the presents, your favorite gift was the pink polka dotted tissue paper, but to see the love that others have for you represented by those gifts was sweet.<br />
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Avery, my child, you have deepened my soul and widened my heart. May you always know you are loved beyond measure. May you always see newness and hope in the world. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am humbled to be watching you grow. It is sacred. I watched and felt you grow from the imperceptible. I will always watch in awe as you grow your whole life.<br />
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This Christmas was beyond wonderful for me, my heart couldn't be fuller. I love you Avery, my daughter. You changed me forever one year ago, and today.Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-22159350741871853032013-12-04T21:09:00.000-06:002013-12-04T21:09:17.053-06:00100 Days!Avery is one hundred days old today! I can hardly believe it, She has changed our lives for the better and I am so happy to be so fortunate to stay home with her and take care of her.<br />
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It's amazing watching her grow and learn! She can hod her head up now, and say "mmmm" and has started babbling. She sat up in her bumbo seat today for the very first time. She smiles when she recognizes someone. And one of the best feelings in the world is that she knows me. She has a special look just for me and it thrills my heart. I am beyond in love with her.<br />
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Avery,<br />
It has beem the best 100 days of my life, being your mother.<br />
100 snuggly nights<br />
100 days I cherish<br />
And countless moments I have stored in my heart to the point of bursting already! I love you so much. I loved you before you got here, and am thankful for the precious days of getting to know you! I took you to your first parade last night and you really liked the horses and the sparkly floats. A moment I never want to forget was walking you over to the Pramount Theatre where the community band was playing Christmas carols and we dance while you watched them and listened to the songs. I kissed your sweet little head and almost started crying because it was a perfect sweet moment.<br />
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Another precious moment was a couple of days ago when your daddy was talking to you and saying "can you say 'daddy?"" and you accidentally but very disticntly said "mommmmmy!" We laughed and laughed!<br />
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SweetAvery, you arethe lighttinour lives!<br />
Happy 100 days of precious life, my little one!<br />
Love, Mom and DadElizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-87085735431948614832013-10-28T11:59:00.001-05:002013-10-28T12:20:22.612-05:00Two months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It is hard to believe that two months ago, Avery came into our lives. The past nine weeks have been some of the hardest, best weeks of my life. We were so very blessed to get to have eight weeks of all three of us being home together! I don't know what I would have done without the support and steadiness of Austin during those first six weeks especially. <br />
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So much has happened in this short amount of time, and its incredible how much she's grown and changed already. We have conversations now, little coo's squeals and smiles so big she can hardly stand it. It's just incredible. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-1tgiDw3UPMWagn5g0TGrH5Ne4IPLZSC_He2QcPKyjoTLEOErx3gzcolDcnwpeLj-5AG9ofBwRLn8v7Ws_P_WshLmwzdknUSYXt1KU4m73oU3FHvvYzvbgPqIQiLlV9YuRo0bl-Xf4B-/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-1tgiDw3UPMWagn5g0TGrH5Ne4IPLZSC_He2QcPKyjoTLEOErx3gzcolDcnwpeLj-5AG9ofBwRLn8v7Ws_P_WshLmwzdknUSYXt1KU4m73oU3FHvvYzvbgPqIQiLlV9YuRo0bl-Xf4B-/s320/photo+3.JPG" width="240" /></a>Some of my favorite things are how she looks at me and smiles while she's nursing, our talks on the changing table (she loves having her diaper off!), how she perches on my shoulder and lifts her head and looks around and I can hear her sweet fast little breaths while she takes in the world around her. Holding her while she sleeps. Knowing that I am her whole world. <br />
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Every night we get in bed, all three of us and read a story from her Jesus Storybook Bible and then pray together. It is such a sweet time. Oh, how we love our baby girl!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzeAXFet0nvB_ss2eo2yGcysfmNX4fNtdCOp0FBOvPu7gUzV6s7H2KLZ0UUR8cL-HMjbwIOuRYpT5J48n5lCsFTkafiCg7EruLpVcNld8zYDqBi0Hk8ghHL83Kvx7ZZ8rKM5S0Txxo0bo/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzeAXFet0nvB_ss2eo2yGcysfmNX4fNtdCOp0FBOvPu7gUzV6s7H2KLZ0UUR8cL-HMjbwIOuRYpT5J48n5lCsFTkafiCg7EruLpVcNld8zYDqBi0Hk8ghHL83Kvx7ZZ8rKM5S0Txxo0bo/s320/photo+5.JPG" width="320" /></a>So much has happened. At ten days old, we took our baby girl to Dripping Springs which made me so happy for her to meet her Drippin' family. We learned about trusting God with everything, and learned that "fear is a liar". <br />
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The first six weeks, I cried every single day, which was quite overwhelming for me. I cried when I looked at her because I couldn't believe how much I loved her. I cried when she cried. I cried when I thought it was too hard. I cried when I felt like I didn't know how to do things. I cried when I was tired. I cried because I was overjoyed. I cried because I remembered my little brother. I cried realizing how much my parents loved me. I cried because Austin was such a rock for me. I cried because I felt blessed beyond measure. I cried because life seemed miraculous and precious and hard.<br />
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I've watched our baby girl heal my family. It's beautiful. <br />
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As the weeks ticked by, I kept praying about what was supposed to happen after my leave from work was over. Austin did not have a job, had not been able to land a job in a year and a half, and when I prayed the only thing that felt sure was that I was supposed to be with Avery. No other answer, plan or solution. <br />
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Tom Russell and Suzy came to visit us a few weeks before I was to go back to work and helped us clear some of the fear out of the way so we could hear what we were supposed to do. <br />
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Austin interviewed for yet another job. <br />
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They said they would let him know late the next week or early the following...the week I went back to work. <br />
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Fear is a liar.<br />
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I was afraid that God wouldn't come through. This time. <br />
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During this time, our dear friends the Merritts lost their twin babies at 20 weeks pregnant. This was so unbelievably sad and terrible and heartbreaking. Why didn't God come through for sweet baby Lola and baby Jude? <br />
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Fear is a liar. <br />
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My mom's best friend is dying of cancer. Why didn't God come through?<br />
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Fear is a liar. <br />
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Monday comes and no word on the job, doubt creeps in and I feel that it will not happen. Why didn't God come through? <br />
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Fear is a liar.<br />
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I drive to work, teary, but thankful to leave Avery with her daddy. I know I'm supposed to be with her, but I can't see how. Why didn't God come through? <br />
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Fear is a liar. <br />
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Austin calls me a couple of hours after I go to work. "I got a call..." he says. "I got the job!" <br />
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Fear is a liar. <br />
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God's timing is always perfect. I am going to stay home with Avery! Austin is so excited about his job and I'm so excited about getting to be with my little girl. I'm nervous and excited about the ways this is going to challenge me and bless me. This is a really big change. Lord, help me to continue to trust your timing, your wisdom and your guidance. Even when I'm afraid it doesn't make sense! You are good. <br />
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I can't explain the mix of joy and sorrow. I can't explain why God would care about answering prayers about a job, but not about healing. It would be inappropriate to try I think. All I know is that here in this moment, God has blessed us and Avery. I know that even in the midst of tragedy, God has blessed the Merritts. <br />
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All I know is that Fear is a liar. Even when it looks really bad. <br />
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<em>We love you so much. We don't have all the answers, but we are learning to trust our Father. He is good, baby girl, and he loves us so. He has used you already to bless us and grow us and challenge us. You are the best thing that has ever happened to us, sweet girl. We love you more than you can even imagine, and now I understand a little more how much that means God loves us. I would do absolutely anything for you. You are the most precious thing in my life. I pray that I can help you know that love, and not hinder it. I am honored to be your mother and I pray God will bless my efforts. I'm not perfect and I will mess up, but I promise I will try my best to lean on our wise counselor to show me how to love like He loves. Precious, sweet girl, you've changed us forever. </em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEira4paFSulfW0BY0L0GBZd7-CsTe7jolxFtjkfZI68kJicku2nzU5oeDFnvLUc19aBGcT_cDEx6Uxi2IiN2O-ItXk3dM5qXXg516EGwu5VDlgAXoS7t0vWPWjWP3ij-E7IoYEaJmdRoMzm/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEira4paFSulfW0BY0L0GBZd7-CsTe7jolxFtjkfZI68kJicku2nzU5oeDFnvLUc19aBGcT_cDEx6Uxi2IiN2O-ItXk3dM5qXXg516EGwu5VDlgAXoS7t0vWPWjWP3ij-E7IoYEaJmdRoMzm/s320/photo+1.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqlDT5Fs6IbXyPNYxQpf3cRNVNJu8u47W64dX1I8kMz1pHFtMWor2UzEO0VsFkXj5Ugy-pn9QknKPw6xGHHvExms3s2IbmI0KprT7t3PzJmhEfe8vwCqaZT2laoeqQbgjG1OhbTLlmsZw/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAqlDT5Fs6IbXyPNYxQpf3cRNVNJu8u47W64dX1I8kMz1pHFtMWor2UzEO0VsFkXj5Ugy-pn9QknKPw6xGHHvExms3s2IbmI0KprT7t3PzJmhEfe8vwCqaZT2laoeqQbgjG1OhbTLlmsZw/s320/photo+4.JPG" width="240" /></a><em>Love, Mom and Dad</em><em> </em><br />
<em> </em><br />
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<em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-TF98L3xLJ3QYhtyPdFKlnGQIwAIUZCV4dZa0rMvG6ezhVlbB_O0FscwUQSotE7gAb2eHybbE-3y7qL3XDWdIlTpT2Hnt31pvP6CM5r7IvuWy0-a3_JBaUnhHa0eJ7ElUW-5qTvcraSn/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-TF98L3xLJ3QYhtyPdFKlnGQIwAIUZCV4dZa0rMvG6ezhVlbB_O0FscwUQSotE7gAb2eHybbE-3y7qL3XDWdIlTpT2Hnt31pvP6CM5r7IvuWy0-a3_JBaUnhHa0eJ7ElUW-5qTvcraSn/s320/photo+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></em></div>
<em> </em><br />
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Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-40067402478140908882013-09-01T16:45:00.001-05:002013-09-01T16:45:12.012-05:00She's here!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPns3qv4Tsy8VDpZHSRypRPe4uLUBydAjtwW37WuA7y3RsRF_i0MzhktwLAbUVykYfsj_gA4hxkfREdKE1PgHX0cO7n9yMjU19yh7t1uSS_2bOF8_ERJ7Y1m2c1ikiH_P9Lt0zjZ0xtCHk/s1600/avery+and+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPns3qv4Tsy8VDpZHSRypRPe4uLUBydAjtwW37WuA7y3RsRF_i0MzhktwLAbUVykYfsj_gA4hxkfREdKE1PgHX0cO7n9yMjU19yh7t1uSS_2bOF8_ERJ7Y1m2c1ikiH_P9Lt0zjZ0xtCHk/s320/avery+and+me.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Avery Elizabeth Brown</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Born on her due date, August 26, 2013 at 8:33am</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>7 lbs 8 oz, 19.5 inches long</i></div>
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<br />
Well, not even 24 hours after writing that last post, our adventure began!<br />
<br />I woke up at 130 am on Monday, August 26, our due date, felt a funny feeling and sure enough my water broke!<br />
<br />
At three am we made our way to the hospital to find out for sure if my water had broken or what was going on. We got there and they told me it hadn't but they'd watch me for a while before sending me home. Not five minutes later, I had a contraction and a gush! The nurse said, yep, that's your fluid, we'll get a room ready.<br />
<br />
By 4 am I was already nearing transition and then by 530 our Dr was scrambling to get there in time because things were moving so fast. The nurse told me not to push and I said I can't not push!<br />
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Our doctor ran into the room in her workout clothes, threw on a gown and got ready for me to push.<br />
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After an hour and a half of pushing, our baby girl, Avery Elizabeth, came into this world at 833 am! Austin was able to help catch her and be the first person to hold her and place her skin to skin with me. Everything went perfectly, minus some stitches that I could care less about in that magical moment. Our perfect daughter, in my arms, wet and hot and looking around with her little eyes at this big new world.<br />
<br />
It was the most incredible experience I've ever had. I did not use any pain medication or management other than what we had planned for with our friend and midwife, Linda. I will say that it was also in my mind that there is absolutely no judgement for anyone who chooses to use pain management. It was a really hard, painful experience and I don't think I would have missed out or anything had I chosen to ease the pain. But, that being said, I'm really happy that I was able to do what I had set my mind to do.<br />
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There are no words to describe what this past week has been like for our little family. Sweet, precious, miraculous all seem to fall short. We're exhausted, we've never been happier in our lives. We are positive that this is the most important thing we've ever done. The level of love we have for this little girl, our daughter is completely overwhelming. I haven't cried this much in my life.<br />
<br />
We're breastfeeding and that has been challenging and also one of the most exquisite experiences ever. We're learning together, and those middle of the night feedings are some of the sweetest moments, in the quiet and dark room, her little hand on me, her eyes looking up at me.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Oh, baby girl, you are here! We love you more than we ever thought we could! You are the absolute best thing in our lives. I praise God for your safe delivery, for finally being able to hold and touch and smell and see you and hear you and your sweet little cooing and heartbreaking cries. Welcome, Avery Elizabeth to our family! You are right at home in the very heart of us. We have prayed over you since we found out about you. We anointed you on our first day home with you. The Lord is your shepherd and will watch over you all of your days. You've changed us forever, sweet daughter. </i></div>
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<i>Love, </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Mom and Dad</i></div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-75023048240028016272013-08-25T07:21:00.000-05:002013-08-25T07:21:36.849-05:0039 weeks, 6 daysI never knew I could miss someone that was so incredibly close to me. I have to admit the excitement and anticipation has slowly become accompanied by an ache for my baby girl. And with every well meaning person who asks "no baby yet?" or "well, where is she?" it hurts just a little.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow is our due date and I really thought she'd be here by now. I'm trying to remain in the present and enjoy these last few days of waiting for her to get here. It's much harder than I thought it would be. I'm distracted by the noise of decisions that might have to be made. Our doctor is going out of town on the 29th and that gives us until next Wednesday to either go into labor or decide to induce or risk having her while our doctor is gone. This is not a decision I thought I would have to make. And honestly, it's stealing my joy and my attention on the present moment. <br />
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This journey has been incredible. I can't believe this part is almost over. She's squirming right now, and in not very long, I won't feel it anymore. I hope I treasure this feeling. I want to marvel at the way my body has done this incredible thing, be grateful for God's faithfulness and protection for the past nine months. I understand in a whole new way what being a vessel for the Lord means, and how honestly I've had so very little to do with his good work. And now in a few days I will understand even deeper his faithfulness to bring his good work to completion. That's where we are right now and I'm standing on the edge doubting. It seems silly to doubt that I'm ever going to have this baby, that I'm going to be pregnant forever. But no joke, those thoughts cross my mind. How much more obviously incorrect could that be? How often do I listen to silly lies like that and believe them?<br />
<br />
Lord, don't let me miss this precious time of waiting by worrying and fretting over the future. I know she's coming. I know you have perfect timing. Please help me to trust you and wait patiently for you. I want my baby so much. I want to hold her, to love her, to know her. I'm ready and waiting and aching for her to be in my arms. Lord, you know my heart. Take care of us in these next few days of waiting. <br />
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<i>Sweet baby girl, </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>We're almost there. You cannot imagine how much I love you. I don't think I can either. I'm overwhelmed by it already. Oh I can't wait to see you and hear you and hold you. I can't believe your due date is tomorrow and that you really could come at any moment! How exciting! This has been such a precious time with you. I pray that your journey into our world is smooth and safe. We will be ready to welcome you into our arms like you are already in our hearts. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Love,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Mom and Dad</i></div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-56834920790471144582013-08-19T12:48:00.001-05:002013-08-19T12:48:37.344-05:0039 Weeks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Look at you, Baby Girl! </div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-477983303673630052013-08-18T18:39:00.000-05:002013-08-18T18:39:11.138-05:0038 weeks and 6 daysUpdate from our doctor's appointment on Tuesday: we're about the same. I was a little disappointed just because we got excited thinking she was on her way! Now it's been almost another week and still nothing. We'll see where we are next Tuesday.<br />
<br />
My blood pressure was high at my visit and so our doctor sent us up to labor and delivery for an hour and I have to say that was an emotional roller coaster because I was not ready to be talking inducing! But after an hour of monitoring, my blood pressure stayed in the normal range and we got to go home. I guess I was nervous in the doctor's office or something. It was really cool getting to sit and listen to our baby girl's heart beat for an hour though. We giggled when she would kick and it would go up, or when she would move into and out of the heart monitor.<br />
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Apparently I am having regular, though painless, contractions which has got to mean we're getting close. Well, at this point we're only a week from our due date so we're close no matter what!<br />
<br />
I've had some random uncomfortable contractions the last couple of days but nothing regular or worth timing. So, things are happening, but this waiting things is tough! I'm so ready to hold and know my baby! And it's amazing, I'm not even afraid of the delivery process anymore. I'm just ready.<br />
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Not a bad place to be.<br />
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I also got everything at work where it needed to be for me to be on leave and I'm so relieved about that. It feels great! I never knew how it was all going to work out but here we are, and we're ready!<br />
<br />
I have an awesome intern who is covering my clients while I'm gone and I'm so happy to know my clients that I care so much about are going to be taken care of. I don't know what the future holds as far as after my maternity leave, so I'm still doing some mental gymnastics of preparing for going back to work and staying home, whichever happens. I guess I'm feeling like going back to work is probably what is going to happen, but we don't know for sure what God has planned yet. Seven weeks is a long time.<br />
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<i>Well, baby girl, we're ready when you are! I know you're getting so close now. I pray that this world will treat you well. It's not perfect, but there is a lot of beauty in it too. I love you so much already and only want love and happiness and joy for you. I guess I'll have to trust God with you. It's hard though because it's hard enough trusting Him with myself, let alone my baby. I want to protect you, to keep you safe, to love you, to help you become a strong joyful spirit filled daughter of God, and I know that means I have to trust Him with you. Oh, how we love you, Avery Elizabeth. Enjoy these last few days in your secret place. As much as I love keeping you safe and close inside, I cannot wait to meet you face to face. </i></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>There have been lots of songs and verses lately about you...songs about sheep and the shepherd, about being protected and tended by a loving shepherd. He's going to take care of you. You are precious to Him. Even more precious than you are to us, which is so hard to imagine. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>We will see you soon! </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Love, </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Mom and Dad</i></div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-84019941321916366172013-08-12T19:31:00.001-05:002013-08-12T19:45:28.565-05:0038 Weeks!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2HHt4r49x97Fueui9_JwPEurGk4uo81JDGqCnzK7NZUPVBxw50ys2VV6v0dBEymV3WzCWXpqgxE1GxIxIgA6tceNV-Y8WpE7jnoA8Lbzc1JAPWPToiEhVWCnzuzFPgyS8gxf8WKW89X_/s1600/37+weeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2HHt4r49x97Fueui9_JwPEurGk4uo81JDGqCnzK7NZUPVBxw50ys2VV6v0dBEymV3WzCWXpqgxE1GxIxIgA6tceNV-Y8WpE7jnoA8Lbzc1JAPWPToiEhVWCnzuzFPgyS8gxf8WKW89X_/s320/37+weeks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">37 weeks, so not our latest picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We go to the doctor in the morning to find out if anything is happening! Last week I was 3 cm and 70% effaced. I was just sure we were going to have our little girl this week, but still not signs of labor. Now we're at 38 weeks and only two weeks till our due date!<br />
<br />
Austin's 30th birthday was this past Thursday and I think we were hoping for a really great birthday present. But we also know that God knows exactly when she needs to get here, so we'll wait and try to be patient. <br />
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It's hard though! Knowing that things are moving along physically makes it hard to wait for Aug 26th to roll around, and even at that, there could still be a week or two if she wanted.<br />
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I just can't wait to be on the other side of the delivery. Not because I'm scared or not looking forward to it, but because I'm ready to have done it. I'm ready to meet my little baby girl and start this new chapter of being parents.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIdp3KeZgIKFVlkZGU9kMPh-PlMTPqMvv2INtyiZlvArIU6vZI8vtV38D4YfG0Kl7hdN-mDBFGSSAc70D9c8uQmQO0n8_w0jtMMvwbDM6zDMMdierd4DqY74AKzs4S2pl0kYB2SF_Clxn/s1600/nursery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIdp3KeZgIKFVlkZGU9kMPh-PlMTPqMvv2INtyiZlvArIU6vZI8vtV38D4YfG0Kl7hdN-mDBFGSSAc70D9c8uQmQO0n8_w0jtMMvwbDM6zDMMdierd4DqY74AKzs4S2pl0kYB2SF_Clxn/s320/nursery.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">table and pillow, hospital bags are packed!</td></tr>
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We worked on the nursery again this weekend. I can't seem to sit still. I know resting would feel nice and I need it, but there's always something I want to do instead. So we refinished an end table for the nursery and I finished making the fox pillow I started a while ago. It really feels finished now! Amazingly, I think we're actually ready for her to get here!<br />
<br />
Today I feel rather emotional. I'm tired and my feet are very puffy. And I think I just want my baby. I know it is sooooo close, but somehow that is excruciating. I see what you're doing here, God. I see how this is an incredible lesson in faith and trusting your timing. I pray I can trust that you will carry us through this journey safely. I'm trying not to get caught up in the things I could worry about. Help me to lay them in your hands and trust you to take care of me and our baby.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Baby Girl, we're trying to wait patiently for you do decide to arrive! We love you so much already and can't wait to be your mommy and daddy. We are so thankful that God has blessed us so graciously with a smooth and safe pregnancy, that you have been so safe and healthy so far. We pray for you every day. I know it's a big journey you're about to go on, and we'll do everything we can to make it a safe and beautiful happy one. Oh, how much we love you. We're so close now, baby girl. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Love, Mom and Dad</i></div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-26443989636423972142013-07-31T14:57:00.002-05:002013-07-31T14:57:32.916-05:0036 Weeks! Well it was another crazy busy weekend of baby showering and we even had a garage sale! I don't know what we were thinking but it felt so good to clear out some junk! Thanks to my amazing husband for making it happen, and to our wonderful house church friends who came to help out...even if it was just because we promised them A.M. Donuts. :-) <br />
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Next weekend I promise I'm taking it easier...only thing on my schedule is a pedicure! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3bIt1jjU0JjXmpF8xGhXWvz1Jhh_mVk_Hl2OIsNMm1hMeUjqIZLUNkaYs3FMSmUlvFz2md53kzMvKqPQnqQSpv_X8QyfiG_M4bh_KLjk58MnEEZ05pGchaV3FUlmpENGOq2QG7Orwzq1/s1600/36+weeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3bIt1jjU0JjXmpF8xGhXWvz1Jhh_mVk_Hl2OIsNMm1hMeUjqIZLUNkaYs3FMSmUlvFz2md53kzMvKqPQnqQSpv_X8QyfiG_M4bh_KLjk58MnEEZ05pGchaV3FUlmpENGOq2QG7Orwzq1/s320/36+weeks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's getting bigger!</td></tr>
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We had another baby shower on Saturday afternoon, right after the garage sale. It was so nice! We have so many wonderful people in our lives who love us so much. Austin had a lot of his family come for the shower which meant a lot to me! Now we're just about set for Baby Girl to get here! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiCQJ9ENQ5m_fgjL2LCccUniN1DZLD9YhD6BEDK3-NArOpE3IYhKG3hWquPlYpxnDaV7jRAMaWzlzuMPIaYSGDhKqH1XV0m8rIG_URHCyyNp-XDZejPZw6CYouDI2ah5_G5H2_mkB_IyI1/s1600/cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiCQJ9ENQ5m_fgjL2LCccUniN1DZLD9YhD6BEDK3-NArOpE3IYhKG3hWquPlYpxnDaV7jRAMaWzlzuMPIaYSGDhKqH1XV0m8rIG_URHCyyNp-XDZejPZw6CYouDI2ah5_G5H2_mkB_IyI1/s320/cookies.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cookies that my sister made for the baby shower! Aren't they amazing??</td></tr>
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<br />
We had a good doctor's appointment again this week, although we did find out we will get to stay an extra day in the hospital since my B Strep test came back positive. I was really bummed at first, but maybe there's a bright side to it. Like, hey, we'll get to just chill an extra day with a whole team of nurses to help us out. I also get to take antibiotics during labor which I also was not happy about. I've managed to stay well this whole time for the purpose of keeping baby girl from getting any antibiotics, but hey. It will be okay. If that's our only hiccup, I will consider us very very blessed. It was also a little reminder that I'm not the one in control here, and that I have to trust that God's got this, ironically, this was also the visit where we handed our doctor a copy of our "birth plan". <br />
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I am going to share it on here simply because I think it turned out pretty good and this is as good a place as any to keep it! <br />
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<em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Birth Plan for Elizabeth Brown</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How we would like to welcome our baby into the
world...</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<em>
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></u></em><br />
<em><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Philosophy:</span></u><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
It is my desire to have as natural a birth as possible within a hospital
setting.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This is a natural
process and I would like to treat it as such for my own peace of mind. I
understand that there is no way to know exactly what this process is going to
look like and I trust the medical staff who will be attending us. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The following are specific considerations that I have for this
process, </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">highest priorities in red:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></b></em><br />
<em><b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">LABOR</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mobility</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I would like the opportunity of listening to my body as far as what
is most comfortable for me, including positions, walking, shower, etc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IV access</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I would like to start an IV access for the ease of administering
fluids/medications if it becomes necessary. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Food/water</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I would like to be permitted to eat and drink during labor. (fruit
or crackers, water)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pain management</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Minimal pain management intervention, I understand my options and
will ask for it if I want it.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Intervention</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Prefer minimal intervention, only in the case of emergency or
risk. Not for the sake of “augmenting” the natural labor process. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">C-section</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
the event of emergency only and after consulting with Dr Bullock regarding our
options. <o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BIRTH</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Delivery</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dad and mom will participate in catching our baby. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Delayed cord clamping</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We would like to delay clamping of the umbilical cord until after
it stops pumping. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Skin-to-skin contact</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Skin-to-skin contact for as long as possible (1 HR) immediately
after birth and attempt breastfeeding at this time. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
the event of C-Section, skin-to-skin contact with dad is preferred.<span style="color: red;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></b></em><br />
<em>
<b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">INFANT CARE</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Delayed bathing</span></u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We would like to forgo the standard bath, allowing the vernix to
remain on her skin. We would prefer to leave the hospital without a bath.
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vaccinations</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We do not want our baby to receive the Hep B vaccination during
our delivery stay. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Breastfeeding</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We would like the opportunity to strictly breastfeed, and would
prefer our baby not be given a bottle without our consent. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Room-in</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We would like for our baby to room with us rather than in the
nursery. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em><br />
<em>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><em>I know we are in good hands, and hope that this helps you know us
a little better too.</em></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><em><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thank you for helping us and thank you for caring for us and our
new baby! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<em>
</em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: black;"><em>--Elizabeth and Austin Brown</em></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We also have continued working on the nursery and also set up her pack n play in our room where she will sleep with us when we come home. It was a surreal feeling waking up this morning to a baby bed right next to me this morning. So soon there will be a real little baby right there! <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBlvCWkCroakrNNWxID5RKkat990S5HF4l3qYcl15guIgj7ZNMG2xK1zduIUD0ejXAkBHrWyUgXKm9qFxe3pC07UnpRokVXkCa0TWM4GMVpiU4jYT5SLtEdc0SzDy7ythpI79cpFM-Gx9/s1600/packnplay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBlvCWkCroakrNNWxID5RKkat990S5HF4l3qYcl15guIgj7ZNMG2xK1zduIUD0ejXAkBHrWyUgXKm9qFxe3pC07UnpRokVXkCa0TWM4GMVpiU4jYT5SLtEdc0SzDy7ythpI79cpFM-Gx9/s320/packnplay.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjS1yvkkeSf7poj9keLQftNnYbhhxXBXV_riWk0-bhFrQs8a-xyx9flEo4Kn0Se30m00KWwGnvgK82JVa3_-WqEMuwKApsYuX_i1KoTryqDYjVNBm8zrt1S2s8t06rlNUK53kIhFHPyi0Q/s1600/nursery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjS1yvkkeSf7poj9keLQftNnYbhhxXBXV_riWk0-bhFrQs8a-xyx9flEo4Kn0Se30m00KWwGnvgK82JVa3_-WqEMuwKApsYuX_i1KoTryqDYjVNBm8zrt1S2s8t06rlNUK53kIhFHPyi0Q/s320/nursery.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cozy corner! </td></tr>
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Last night, I was having Braxton Hicks contractions like crazy but they seem to have calmed down after I went to bed. I was so tired last night all I wanted was to go to sleep. I can tell my hormones are going crazy these days. Almost daily I have to have a good cry, and I won't even know why all the time. When it's over it usually makes me laugh though, so it is not too bad. <br />
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This song has been on my heart so much lately and I can't help but feel like it is exactly what I need to focus on while we're waiting for our baby to get here: <br />
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Even with a smooth, peaceful, healthy pregnancy I feel my faith being stretched to the max, and then asked to trust a little bit more. I think He's teaching me that He is my everything. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Baby Girl, we're so close! You'll be here before we know it, and I'm so blessed that you are part of the plan that God has for me to learn to trust him more, to know him better and to have greater faith. I also know that this is only the beginning of the things that you are going to teach me. You've changed my life completely already. I love you more than you can imagine! Take your time, we're ready when you are. We love you!</em></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Love, Mom and Dad</em> </div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-28740881891680804992013-07-22T14:18:00.003-05:002013-07-22T14:18:51.803-05:0035 Weeks!Holy Smokes! We had a busy weekend. We spent all day yesterday getting the nursery ready, including painting a mural on one of the walls that turned out sooooo pretty! My mom and dad and sister and brother-in-law came over and helped us so much. We are beyond blessed by all of the amazing family and friends who are helping us get ready!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwufxMZoY5apmVsrssdMWsS5Rt3-p2VvmMf6bNVkdxB-Oh8je5WD3ve_KwBOpmctofwIwQHEzEN88Ytl2oLC_rbP6sOXzxz5GQlniaIX5mmfWWGafKvINyuRCgQ1sjxP5YynIt4cbbNd1/s1600/painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDwufxMZoY5apmVsrssdMWsS5Rt3-p2VvmMf6bNVkdxB-Oh8je5WD3ve_KwBOpmctofwIwQHEzEN88Ytl2oLC_rbP6sOXzxz5GQlniaIX5mmfWWGafKvINyuRCgQ1sjxP5YynIt4cbbNd1/s400/painting.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you, Mom Dad and Austin! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJV7MBUKtd_hCQG1pUTBLQ4J2zwPuJVUpUcq46JLpgN8iUEQ-wAPW_3uKFt877XDSMNFfMX-PebKlDlgCLnNVFdyl5IvFwPB_9pXeDUOFUt1sApz78McS3MnswJU8J4QgcmVQhq6FuwY3/s1600/nursery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJV7MBUKtd_hCQG1pUTBLQ4J2zwPuJVUpUcq46JLpgN8iUEQ-wAPW_3uKFt877XDSMNFfMX-PebKlDlgCLnNVFdyl5IvFwPB_9pXeDUOFUt1sApz78McS3MnswJU8J4QgcmVQhq6FuwY3/s400/nursery.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing touches! </td></tr>
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<br />
Well, it's a good thing we did all that because we found out today at our doctor's appointment that I am 60% effaced and dilated to 1 cm! Dr. Bullock said that she would highly doubt I make it to my due date but there's no way to know for sure. We were excited and nervous at the same time. We'd love for her to bake a little longer just for her own sake but the doctor said she would be okay if she came any time now. So, I'm supposed to take it easy and we'll just wait and see. <br />
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We also had our ultrasound appointment and found out that she is 5 lbs 14 oz, head down, and definitely a girl! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCDha0U3Qmzflj03p2yPjhmu61Ey3mc0pgqv_8q-6u4xDyyrDXCwoMxjU7Xe902qBOv2u0Ic9WAG3zJajR1bWTm7DfsLKgj6gdIHfvBdPMQgQCvDM6bWW0S_UFZlPknmlU_DVCXGj5iSg/s1600/35+weeks+US.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCDha0U3Qmzflj03p2yPjhmu61Ey3mc0pgqv_8q-6u4xDyyrDXCwoMxjU7Xe902qBOv2u0Ic9WAG3zJajR1bWTm7DfsLKgj6gdIHfvBdPMQgQCvDM6bWW0S_UFZlPknmlU_DVCXGj5iSg/s400/35+weeks+US.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleepy girl! </td></tr>
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I can't believe how fast all of this is happening now! So maybe five weeks to go, maybe not! <br />
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<em>Even though there's lots to do, we'll be ready when you are, baby girl! We loved getting to see your little face and feet today! Looks like you definitely have your daddy's nose. We prayed with our doctor today for you to get here safely and we'll keep on trusting and waiting. Take your time, baby girl. </em></div>
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<em>Love, Mom and Dad</em></div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-81234363086300142802013-07-20T19:22:00.000-05:002013-07-20T19:22:52.718-05:0034 Weeks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Monday was our 7 year anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long, but at the same time, it seems like we've always been together. I'm so blessed to have spent 7 (10, if you count dating) years with this wonderful man. I'm looking forward to seeing him be an amazing dad! That's honestly one of the many reasons I married him. We had a quiet easy celebration and went out to eat, then came home to have ice cream and talk. It was lovely. <br /><br />
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The last two days have really gotten us in baby mode! We were blessed by both of our church families through a baby blessing and diaper shower from our house church and a baby shower from our First Christian (DoC) family. Our house is now overflowing with baby gear and baby clothes!<br />
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We have chosen to use cloth diapers and we couldn't have done it without our sweet house church pitching in and getting us started on our system. What a blessing!<br />
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The hostesses at First Christian chose to get us our stroller and we're so happy with it. Can't wait to wheel that little baby around in it!<br />
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We're in our 35th week now and I can't believe how close it's getting. I'm definitely starting to feel it physically. I've been really blessed with an easy pregnancy so I can't complain if it gets tougher for a little while.<br />
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Tomorrow, my mom and dad are coming over to help us get the nursery organized and set up. The guys will be moving furniture and mom and I will be painting aspen trees on one of the walls. It's going to be so cute! <br />
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I've also been working on packing my bag for the hospital to have ready to go whenever she's ready to come! It's a little surreal, I can't believe we're this close. All the dreaming and planning and talking and choosing and questions and research and now she's almost here! I want to slow down just a little and just enjoy this time. Things are already different, but they will never be the same in a few weeks. I look forward to that, but at the same time, I am so very grateful for the way things have been for so long.<br />
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<i>Baby girl, you are only a blessing and we can't wait for you to be here! You've been kicking and squirming so much lately almost like you're gearing up for your big debut. We love you so much we can hardly stand it and we know that it is only going to grow the moment we lay eyes on you. We're getting ready, and it seems like you are too. We'll be ready whenever you are. We're trusting God to let us know when that is and to walk us through getting you here. In the mean time, we will all three just do our best to simply be where we are and do what we are supposed to be doing in the moment. No need to get worried or caught up in the future. Right now is wonderful. We love you. </i></div>
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<i>Love, Mom and Dad </i></div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-11370998914752099712013-07-03T10:46:00.002-05:002013-07-03T10:46:20.607-05:0032 weeks! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I think I look bigger in real life, but this is getting real! I am so eagerly awaiting our sweet baby girl's arrival. We've got 8 weeks to go, but time is flying. Her bedding arrived and we've started putting the nursery together and I love it! This weekend we are going to do some murals and move furniture. <br />
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<em>We're getting your room ready, baby girl!</em> </div>
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Our dear friends Grant and Laura and their baby girl Eden are staying with us right now and it is so good to connect with them. It's been two years since we saw each other. Being around them is making me so excited for what is coming for us. They are just precious. <br />
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We finished our baby registries too. That was so much fun and I know it's not about stuff, but it means we're having a baby! This is happening! It was so fun to get excited about diapers and pacis and swaddle blankets. <br />
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I have had such an easy pregnancy and I'm so thankful for that. I'm just starting to get a little uncomfortable. I bought a wedge pillow and have to say that's the best I've slept in weeks. Totally worth it! I can't wear my wedding ring anymore which makes me sad, but also means we're getting closer! She's moving a lot too. It always makes me smile when I feel a kick or a squirm. There's a person in there! I can tell it's getting cramped in there though. We're running out of room! <br />
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<em>We love you, baby girl! We just can't wait to meet you! </em></div>
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<em>Love, Mom and Dad</em> </div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-28158961949415452602013-06-19T10:15:00.001-05:002013-06-19T10:15:09.612-05:00Babymoon! (30 weeks!)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's getting bigger! We're 10 weeks away!</td></tr>
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This week, Austin and I headed to Glen Rose, Tx for a much needed and very restful get-away. We stayed at Fossil Rim and thoroughly enjoyed the deck and animals. We spent most of our time relaxing with the view and a cup of coffee. The weather couldn't have been better, cloudy and rainy in the mornings, sunny in the afternoons. <br />
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We ate good food, took lots of naps, talked, played games (I won my first game of Scrabble!) and watched the animals come out around sunset. <br />
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The big events were the drive through the park and feeding all the different animals along the way on Monday, and also visiting Dinosaur Valley State Park and seeing the dinosaur footprints. <br />
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I'm so thankful we got to go on a babymoon. We have been so blessed to have seven wonderful years of marriage, and almost ten years of knowing each other. This trip did not even begin to compare with how wonderful these years have been just the two of us, but it was such a nice way to be together "one last time" as a family of two. <br />
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I'm getting a little nervous about "D-day" (delivery day), but I know it will be okay. I'm learning a lot about trust right now. It is so comforting having my wonderful husband pray over me and our baby every night before we go to sleep. <br />
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<em>Baby girl, we're so excited for you to get here. We aren't sad about it at all, but there is a sense that this is going to change things forever. We're happy about that. We're really blessed that we have such a wonderful foundation and relationship that we are ready to share with you. </em></div>
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<em>God made us for community, for family, and he has invited you to be a part of ours. I pray we can be everything that He intends for your community to be. We're ready to share our lives with you fully and completely. We're ready because He has prepared us. You are going to teach us so many things too, I know, and we're ready to grow too! </em></div>
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<em>We love each other, and we love you so much already.</em> </div>
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<em>Love, Mom and Dad</em></div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-37718231009113100712013-06-12T22:40:00.002-05:002013-06-12T22:40:35.043-05:0029 weeks!<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Baby girl, I can't wait to meet you! I love actually watching you move around and feeling you wiggle and squirm and kick. When your Daddy prays over you at night, you've responded every time by kicking and squirming. </i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You really did kick Daddy in the face! He was talking to you and you got him right in the nose. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Tonight we went to our second week of our Tiny Toes birth class and it was so great. We got to tour the hospital and see where this thing is going to happen. We also got to take a good look at our expectations for labor and delivery and when push came to shove, ultimately, all I really care about are things about our little baby getting the best possible start she can have. I can be flexible on most of the points of the process, but those first few moments of her new life are the most important to me.<br />
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We also were given the homework of choosing a song to sing to her every day for the rest of our pregnancy and we chose "Jesus Loves Me", the Jennifer Knapp version. She'll recognize it after she's born, and we'll keep singing it to her. After all, that's the main, basic thing we want her to know in her life...that she is loved by Jesus and it is really not more complicated than that.<br />
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<i>Baby girl, we love you! Jesus loves you! And right now He is taking such good care of you and we are so thankful that He chose us to help take care of you too. We can't wait to get to know you, to help you know in the flesh, that you are precious and you are loved.</i></div>
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<i>Love, Mom and Dad</i></div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-16674358705666404392013-06-12T22:16:00.002-05:002013-06-12T22:16:47.448-05:0028 Weeks!Hello 3rd Trimester! <br />
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I can't believe it's been nine weeks since I wrote last, and my have some things changed! <br />
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Baby girl is growing like crazy and I finally REALLY look pregnant. She's kicking up a storm too which is such a cool thing. A week or so ago my sister and mom got to feel her kick, and Anna said that was the first time she had ever felt a baby kick! Just such a neat time. <br />
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We were so blessed to have Beth Dukes take our maternity photos last weekend and she's already edited them. They are beautiful and I can't get over how special these pictures are as they capture this incredibly special time for us. Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-81980431970746243952013-06-12T12:00:00.000-05:002013-10-28T12:04:46.496-05:00We Have a Name!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em>*I wrote this months ago before our daughter was born. We decided to wait to publish until after she arrived. </em></div>
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<em>Our daughter's name is Avery Elizabeth. </em></div>
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We knew Elizabeth would be part of her name because I am the fifth generation Elizabeth on my mom's side. We wanted to continue that tradition, even though it's not an official tradition. Elizabeth means "promised to God". <br />
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Avery is a name that we chose slowly. It has grown in meaning for us. Avery means "wise counselor" and this season of our lives has been very much about learning to trust the Wise Counselor.<br />
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In a way her name speaks to the fact that we are promised to God, but also that God is promised to us! His counselor, Spirit, is with us and is promised to be with us and guide us. We are learning to surrender to and trust this promise. <br />
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We know that choosing her name is not what determines what God is going to do in her life, that He has His own special name for her. But we pray that her name is one that speaks to where she came from, the season she's been born into, and the promises that we cling to. <br />
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<em>We love you, Avery Elizabeth! And we hope that you love your name and someday understand where our hearts were as we very purposefully and carefully chose your name. </em></div>
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<em>Love, Mom and Dad</em></div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-12545171005645318982013-04-03T14:27:00.000-05:002013-04-04T08:27:47.043-05:0019 weeks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Baby girl is growing! Almost daily, I feel like my belly is getting bigger and bigger. I am really enjoying feeling pregnant, and LOOKING pregnant! <br />
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And I think we maybe, just maybe, know your name now. We care so much about you having a good, meaningful name and this might just be it. Your daddy likes it a lot, and I do too. It feels so important to give someone a name. So, someday I want you to know that we took it very seriously and we know that it's a name that we've loved for a long time. It is a special name. We are praying about it too, since right now, only God really knows who you are and if this is the right name for you, baby girl. <br />
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And then, I can't wait to meet you face to face and begin to live the life we're dreaming about already. We'll have a home and a name ready for you. <br />
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Love, </div>
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Mom and Dad<br />
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P.S.: Austin got to feel you kick for the very first time last night (Wed) at 10:50 pm! It was so sweet and cute. He was surprised at how fast and strong your little kick or punch was! He said that wasn't at all what he was expecting it to feel like. </div>
<br />Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-86041792190958430802013-03-29T07:49:00.001-05:002013-03-29T07:50:56.255-05:00We are having...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSBM4kETAw1trQf9pR-gEQUIvNhY-rXtdtEsnd3-vKPSshAhoQ8r8m-FV2GMF21w0NhlSAqqUN6Pt_YXrErABUYRsAmuqWNGUl4UhjL8qjPaMCUaOASZY1207EjafdqlpXFmwFk6uF7h2/s1600/IMG_9327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFSBM4kETAw1trQf9pR-gEQUIvNhY-rXtdtEsnd3-vKPSshAhoQ8r8m-FV2GMF21w0NhlSAqqUN6Pt_YXrErABUYRsAmuqWNGUl4UhjL8qjPaMCUaOASZY1207EjafdqlpXFmwFk6uF7h2/s1600/IMG_9327.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
Yesterday was Maundy Thursday and we just had our ultrasound at 18.5 weeks and found out that we are having...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NvfVL8JZMsN3E9uWulKoORis8iavY371ltmIVXI7HoUViQ4EUYdy9U7E2xXr66k9irh3axZRe2Haxw45bUfXNt0r9IbDKSt0cZ_KwZ_bY8vGyDkCKiHt4Pg0aCKegeXDBiZqAqL_VD3C/s1600/IMG_9329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NvfVL8JZMsN3E9uWulKoORis8iavY371ltmIVXI7HoUViQ4EUYdy9U7E2xXr66k9irh3axZRe2Haxw45bUfXNt0r9IbDKSt0cZ_KwZ_bY8vGyDkCKiHt4Pg0aCKegeXDBiZqAqL_VD3C/s1600/IMG_9329.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
...a sweet baby GIRL!<br />
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It was a precious experience, and ever since, we have been imagining our lives with a little girl. We can't wait for her to get here!<br />
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Watching her move on the screen was incredible; she's really in there! She wiggled and squirmed and kicked and punched. She rubbed her eyes with her little hand and crossed her legs at one point like a little lady. <br />
Austin was in love already, but seeing her I think sealed the deal. This is a very special Easter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRm3dp6xufD0N5Vc3lX4dWUI7EW21OIRm2k-HLoxIV9-Me7wnmYFayGkd6rFCh5ulFuWngHkTEDcK1JbHm2ycjIY_ajoSATmIEH_r-Y1X74Z8dQ9TTnWGsmw4xCN7cXWodkGrEE1Net4Ru/s1600/ultrasound18wks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRm3dp6xufD0N5Vc3lX4dWUI7EW21OIRm2k-HLoxIV9-Me7wnmYFayGkd6rFCh5ulFuWngHkTEDcK1JbHm2ycjIY_ajoSATmIEH_r-Y1X74Z8dQ9TTnWGsmw4xCN7cXWodkGrEE1Net4Ru/s1600/ultrasound18wks.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">profile, 18.5 weeks. Look at that cute nose!</td></tr>
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We can't wait to meet you, baby girl! We're almost halfway there! </div>
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Love,</div>
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Mom and Dad</div>
Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-72771574524536363492013-03-19T11:03:00.000-05:002013-03-19T11:03:13.170-05:00Baby Brown<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sonogram at 10 weeks</td></tr>
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Well, I've debated about where to record the details and memories of my pregnancy and ultimately decided to use my blog because this has always been a special space for me. And so, here goes!<br />
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---We are 17 weeks in! I feel like things are just beginning to feel real for me. I think that I even have felt you move now, which is incredible. I really can't wait to meet you. We find out if you are a boy or a girl next week and both of us are so excited. You've already changed our lives and I dream about getting to know you as you grow. I am so thankful for you! Your daddy talks to you all the time and prays for you.---<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCwxgiXOo3EA-sBYYV8MBspeginUfAZ9XuU_1iIeWYOK2BnzRlzt4saRmtJt8UIJLz2Pwnm11vuj83saSilLlXHqJgIqu2ksLkXeG8aki3H5eoLVvaAwEWpBJDeJ0g4awQN3iBSgWDC9d/s1600/17+weeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQCwxgiXOo3EA-sBYYV8MBspeginUfAZ9XuU_1iIeWYOK2BnzRlzt4saRmtJt8UIJLz2Pwnm11vuj83saSilLlXHqJgIqu2ksLkXeG8aki3H5eoLVvaAwEWpBJDeJ0g4awQN3iBSgWDC9d/s320/17+weeks.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting to get a baby bump!</td></tr>
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We've been looking forward to this part of our journey for a long time and it's still hard to believe it's finally happening. It feels like God is already stretching us and teaching us new things, new levels of trusting Him that have already pushed me to my limit. <br />
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I laid in bed this morning as still as I possibly could with my hands on my belly hoping to feel something. After a while, I became aware of very subtle movement, almost wondering if I was making it up, but I kept waiting and it happened again. My eyes might have gotten a little teary.<br />
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Patience, process, trust, waiting...these are things you can't make yourself learn. But through grace, and our gentle Father we can be transformed. I don't really have that much to do with this process of bringing life into the world. Mostly I just get to witness and partake in it. And it has changed my perspective on what it means to bring life into the world in other ways too. How much action or credit can I really take? Ultimately I have no control over anything. But I can partake in life that is graced to me, bearing witness to the Creator of that life and rejoicing that there is beauty, miracle, breath worth breathing in the midst of so much darkness and uncertainty. For 17 weeks I've anxiously waited for evidence that there is life inside. I knew it was real, and true, but I wanted evidence daily.<br />
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I trust that Life is with me, even when I don't "see" the evidence. And I'm beginning to wonder if that's all we are called to do: witness to the Life we have the faith to believe in. Faith we only have through that Life in the first place. Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-77917392222417147832013-02-27T13:56:00.002-06:002013-02-27T13:56:49.948-06:00GalatiansReflections on Galatians:<br />
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Lord, reading your word has been such a blessing. How can I be in relationship with you? I wan this to be my sole desireand I know you already have answered that. The desire of my heart is for your heart. Amd maybe that it "The spirit of his Son [in] our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" (4:6)<br />
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So maybe you stopped telling me what to do. Because there's more. You want me. <br />
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Well, I don't want to scramble and grasp and fight. I want to walk in faith through the Spirit. In freedom. Freedom. And Love. I want to walk with you. (What does this mean??)<br />
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Seems like all I can do is ask and wait and have faith that I am a child of promise. But that promise was made with Abraham and his offspring, Jesus. I am an heir only through Christ. It is only through relationship with Jesus -the offspsring - that I am in heir to the kingdom of heaven. <br />
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Jesus. You are TRUTH. I can know TRUTH, and be known by TRUTH. And it is only in that knowing that there is freedom and promise. Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-26270443649870789782012-06-08T10:49:00.001-05:002012-06-08T11:07:37.879-05:00Feminism and FaithSo after writing my last post I began to feel the familiar feeling of nervousness for putting strong opinions out there. <br />
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I find that after such a contribution, it is imperative that I refocus, remind myself that, yes I stand by what I wrote, but there is much more to me than these positions. When I say, yes, I’m a feminist, yes, I’m a Christian and I care about gender issues, there’s still a whole gamut of things I care about too. I care about seeing Jesus in this world. I’m obsessed really with the Kingdom of God. I’m blown away by radical, liberating, beautiful Jesus. He’s good for me, yes, but he’s salvation for this world. I want more than anything to be identified with Christ, that is, to look only to him for my identity, my sense of self, and my source of motivation.<br />
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I know it is so very easy to put people in boxes when they seem to fit in one. What I wrote yesterday is not core to who I am, but who I am at my core has led me to these conclusions. <br />
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So, I guess what I’m thinking is that it is easy to write people off when the word “feminist” comes up (which is very telling in itself) but honestly, my views are molded by my walk with Christ, and it just so happens that there are a lot of parallels between the work of feminists and my own understanding of things through Christ. <br />
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I think it might be better to embrace the challenge of allowing loaded words to be what they are without rejecting people or groups altogether. I use the word feminist because it would be a disservice to feminists to need a Christian alternative label, somehow saying that we can’t be doing the same things…even if they are doing it better. <br />
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I think a common misconception of feminism is the idea that it’s only pro-women. But my understanding is that feminism is a lens that illuminates power structures that are harmful to all of a society’s members. It considers the harm to men by these power structures as much as to women. It shines light on people groups that are, thanks to the power structure, rendered invisible by the privileged majority. <br />
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Feminism is kind of like infrared imaging. It makes visible what is already there. It doesn’t create it. <br />
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And honestly, the Spirit has that same capacity of “renewing our mind”, of bringing light into a dark world, of shifting our paradigm and creating a new Kingdom in which the poor inherit the earth, the weary find rest, the “least of these” are looked straight in the eye and their names are learned and they are tended to. <br />
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Feminism has been part of my faith journey. It has been a tool that has opened my eyes to understanding justice according to the gospel. I’ve prayed through these ideas, I’ve wrestled long and hard with them before God and, I’m sure, I have a lot more wrestling to do. <br />
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In the same way the Church has twisted the Good News of the gospel, it is important to recognize that there is good news in feminism as well, and the same way we ask people to not judge the whole Church by its extreme outliers, I would ask that you do the same with feminism. Compare the good news of feminism with the Good News of Jesus. <br />
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I’m asking you to notice where we can easily walk beside one another. <br />
<br />Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7865281787776957037.post-55534615777028369532012-06-06T20:48:00.001-05:002012-06-08T11:24:04.620-05:00Why Equality Matters<i>This post is something I feel very challenged in writing. I apologize in advance for the difficulty I may have articulating my thoughts. I've got way more to discuss than can possibly be appropriate for one blog post, so today I'd like to participate in <a href="http://rachelheldevans.com/announcing-week-of-mutuality?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RachelHeldEvans+%28Rachel+Held+Evans+-+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">Rachel Held Evan's</a> week of mutuality with the following post. </i><br />
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The work that I do gives an urgency and poignancy to the issue of gender equality versus hierarchy. I am a systemic therapist working primarily with domestic violence. It's all well and good, and seems relatively harmless to debate gender equality when in our minds this only includes the supposed healthy majority, the, well, privileged. And let's also make clear that when we are talking in very broad terms regarding issues as broad as gender equality in a very large population such as "the church" our default is to assume the privileged majority. Married, white, middle class, even young. Does this ring true for anyone else? So typically, women in the church are assumed to be young, educated, white, healthy, married women. Is that a safe assumption?<br />
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On to the next point. I'd like to include a couple of lengthy quotes from a book that is quickly becoming one of my favorites,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Engaging-Powers-Discernment-Resistance-Domination/dp/080062646X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339033474&sr=8-1"> Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination by Walter Wink</a>. After this, I will discuss my personal response to some of these thoughts.<br />
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<i>And both women and children are abused by some Christian men, despite the emphasis on love in the teaching of Jesus. The problem is once again structural –males</i> must<i> dominate women (even if some do it rather gently) if they wish to preserve male ownership of property, the family name, and political control. </i></blockquote>
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<i> There is some correlation, however, between patrilineality and sexual inequality, and matrilineality and sexual equality. Fifty-two percent of matrilenial societies are sexually equal; only 19 percent of patrilineal are. Fifty percent of matrilocal societies are sexually equal; only 21 percent of patrilocal ones are. Warefare is absent, periodic, or occasional in 50 percent of societies where sexes are equal. Where males dominate, warfare is endemic or chronic in 82 percent of societies. Fathers spend more time with infants in societies having feminine creation symbolism. In 63 percent of these societies, fathers are in frequent contact with infants. But where societies have masculine origin symbolism, fathers are, at best, only occasionally involved with infants. In 72 percent of societies with mixed masculine and feminine origin symbolism, the father is in occasional to frequent contact with infants. </i></div>
<i> ...</i> </blockquote>
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<i>For although the liberation of women was not his central focus, if we look at what Jesus preached from the perspective of a critique of domination, we see a single, unifying theme: a vision of the liberation of </i><i>all</i><i> humanity through the replacement of androcratic with partnership values. </i></div>
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<i>Jesus overturned the most rigidly upheld mores of his time. But the Domination System proved too strong. Soon sinners were being excluded from the church, women were being squeezed out of leadership, and the wealthier, educated males were taking over authority from the poor and unschooled. The Roman Empire joined the Jewish leadership in attempting to crush this nonviolent movement of compassion and equality. From within and without, enormous pressures forced the church ineluctably toward precisely the kind of hierarchical and violence-based system that Jesus had rejected…In all this, the conquest of women went hand in hand with the exploitation of the poor, the conquest of weaker nations, and the rape of the environment.</i></div>
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Any time I see power struggles happening within the church, I question the motive. I question what really is at work in this debate, and when I think about women in ministry, women in leadership, the debate between complementarians (when really we mean patriarchy) and egalitarians, the mommy wars etc, I am beginning to see a fallen system at work. A system trying to control a perceived threat of chaos, the old “slippery slope”. A system where everyone is grappling for a bit of ground. </div>
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I recognize I am unable to fight this system. I recognize that I am not the one who can win this, grab more power, or gain any ground of my own effort without engaging the very system that I can’t win in. I want to engage the debates, engage the change because I see it every day. I see what is at stake because it is bruised and fearful faces.<b><i> It is people who have lost sight of their personhood because a power structure took it away from them.</i></b> This may sound extreme, but it is my daily experience with the work I do. </div>
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So why is it important to push for equality of women in churches? Because until we have that, we are still promoting the system at work in a society that is undergirded by violence and power and oppression. And I feel certain that is not the reality of the Kingdom that Jesus told us was near. </div>
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The women I work with and love need the Kingdom. They need freedom. And I've heard from too many of them oppressive words straight from the pulpit that kept them in abusive situations in an attempt to be obedient to the churches instruction. </div>
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And part of that is what I mentioned at the beginning of this post. It's an assumed majority of privilege. Church, the poor, the oppressed, the powerless need to know that this does not mean they are invisible. </div>
<br />Elizabeth Gregory Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11960677393935673759noreply@blogger.com1