What do you do...

What do you do when you are caring for two sick kids, wake up sick yourself and then get a call from your husband saying he's been called in to preach at the last minute? Laugh a little and then pray and recount all the ways God has been faithful before and look forward to how he will be faithful again! Until next week!

The Verdict Is...

The tie breaker goes to the girls! Taylor & Trevor will be having a sister. I am thrilled. I have tried hard with all my pregnancies to not wish for one gender over the other. But this time I couldn't help it, I really wanted a girl. I was hoping for a sister for Taylor. Even though God may give us more children, Taylor is getting older and I was hoping that if she were to have a sister they could be somewhat close in age. Taylor is very excited and Trevor, although he doesn't know it yet, will be too. He'll have a little sister to practice leading, providing & protecting on! Even better news... Our little girl looks totally healthy. Everything was normal. Thank you Lord for these gifts from you!

Happy Birthday Honey!

30 years ago today my greatest gift here on earth was born. I am so blessed to be your wife love!

"At the end of the day if it's just you and me
At the end of the road there's no place I'd rather be
then to end all my days in the warmth of your arms
It's just you & me, It's Just you & Me
At the end of the day"

Henry

It has become routine with Taylor while putting her to bed to review the day. Afterwards she always asks, "What day will tomorrow be? " I will tell her and then she'll ask " What do we do on ______ ? " Repeating whatever day tomorrow will be. Tonight was no different and I began to explain to her what Thursday holds. One being daddy's birthday and the other being mommy getting pictures of the baby in her tummy. I told her that tomorrow, if the Lord wills, we will find out if she will be having a sister or a brother. Now up to this point she has been adamant about having a sister. Telling everyone that mommy is having a sister for her. Knowing this I tried to prepare her heart and response that whatever the Lord gives us we will rejoice and give thanks. Even if it's another brother like Trevor. At which I expected her to protest and say it's a girl. Instead she replied, "ok but let's name my brother Henry. That's a great name right mom? " Yes Taylor Henry is a great name....goodnight sweetie.

p.s. As excited as I am in Taylor's initial response, the baby will not be named Henry. No offense to all the Henry's out there, really it is a great name. Just not a Daukas name :-)

Book recommendations/Boy or Girl?

This week will be an exciting one. On Thursday Chris turns 30! Also on Thursday we have the big ultrasound appointment. This will be Chris' first time seeing our baby and hearing the heartbeat. We will be finding out the gender so stay tuned. Chris thinks it's a boy and well I have a feeling it's a girl. Of course the odds in the Daukas family are definitely in Chris' favor. Right now I have a 1 in 5 chance it's a girl ;-)

Other than awaiting Thursday there is not much to blog about. So if I could leave you with two book recommendations.

1. Women's Ministry and the Local Church by Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt - I have read the first five chapters and it has been outstanding.

2. God is the Gospel by John Piper-This is a book I have wanted to read all month. The first three chapters have been assigned for our Pastor's care group Thursday night, so my desire will turn into reality! I highly recommend it in light of all that I've heard from Chris. He is reading it for the second time this month and in our discussion over what he's learning I have been challenged in my walk with the Lord and in my own definition of what the Gospel is.

Fresh Grace!

Hello Friends! Chris and I's cruise was wonderful. We had such a great, relaxing time together! I got a massage, Chris got second in a basketball competition, we ate and ate and ate some more and explored Catalina Island and downtown Ensenada. Another highlight is we both got extended time each day to read the word and other books. I read a book on mothering and re-read my biography on Mrs. Spurgeon. Both inspire me in my role as a wife and mother.

I admit I had this thought when we left, what if I don't want to come back? It's a horrible thought I know. See I have been praying that God would help me to die to myself. As a mother (and really as a believer) one doesn't have a choice and yes, it's been a slow death, but one nonetheless. So here I was given a chance to go and indulge in all my selfishness. Spend endless time with my favorite person on earth, sleep without being interrupted by children, able to sit and eat a whole meal slowly... and I admit it was amazing to have all those things again. Also, our cruise was filled with 90% retired couples. I had the privilege of striking up a conversation with a few and over and over I was reminded how fast time goes. I would hear " Oh it feels like just yesterday our kids were little, enjoy every minute!" So at the end of this wonderful week there was no other place I wanted to be than back home with my children. No other person I wanted to be than a wife and a mother. Nothing else I wanted to do than to go home and continue to die to myself and train up young souls for the Lord. I want to take every moment and make every memory I can with them. Yes, the Lord meet me in some wonderful ways. Renewed my faith and gave me a fresh vision for mothering. How thankful I am! It was a sweet reunion Friday night with the children! Apparently they missed us as much as we missed them :-)

here are some pictures of our cruise: http://homepage.mac.com/daukas/PhotoAlbum6.html

*sorry since we've gotten a Mac I haven't been able to figure out how to make an actual link for one to click on...

Cruise Break

Well I'm off for a week vacation with my hubby! Eight months of waiting has come to an end! This was going to be a suprise trip for Chris to celebrate his upcoming 30th birthday. I let him in on the surprise and I'm glad I did as we have both enjoyed anticipating the cruise. I will post some pics when we get back.

A special thanks to all in our 24/7 singles ministry! What a generous surprise you gave Chris & I this morning. We love you all so much and count it a tremendous privilege to be apart of your lives. Chris and I are checking out the cruise excursions tonight and thanks to your generous gift we will be able to do a few of them!

Have a great week!

Second Honeymoon

I know many of you read girl talk and if you don't you should stop reading mine and go straight there! I was encouraged by Carolyn Mahaney's post today.

http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/2006/02/empty_nest_or_s.html

Carolyn speaking about an encounter she had with another women who too has found herself with an "empty nest",says,

"Wise words for all of us, from a woman who is reaping the rewards of a lifetime investment in her marriage. Often I meet young women who could benefit from this advice. They are overwhelmed by the demands of motherhood, or simply more engrossed in being their kid’s mom than their husband’s wife. Some have grown apathetic and less than enthusiastic about their marriage relationship. Sadly, I’m not always sure that many young wives stop to consider how their present way of relating to their husband will affect the future happiness of their marriage."

I am so thankful for this advice and the encouragement I get from other Godly women around me to work hard at loving my husband. Not that's it's hard work but so often I find myself putting all my efforts into loving my children and taking care of the home that I don't save much energy or time to give towards loving Chris. It's can be tempting to think, well one day the kids will be gone and then I will have plenty of time to give to Chris. Instead I should thinking, one day the kids will be gone and I want to reap the fruit of years of hard work that we devote to keeping a loving, passionate marriage!

Which is why I am so excited that in 4 days Chris and I will be on a plane heading to board a cruise ship for five days! It will be like a second honeymoon for us. We were trying to figure out when the last time we had even a day alone together (not counting conferences) and it's been at least two years! California here we come :-)