The Growing Library

It's amazing how the world continues to spin, days slip into weeks, our lives are full and busy...and yet, something feels different.  It's hard to explain the feeling of knowing that your child may be in this world but not yet with you.  The dominant feeling is hopefulness, followed quickly by uncertainty and an often failed attempt at staying present.  On one hand, we fully understand that nothing is definite and that only God knows for sure what is ahead of us.  On the other hand, there is the inescapable truth that we are falling in love with this little one.  Praying for him, praying for his mom, calling him by name, wondering how his days are being spent, and resisting the urge to fill his empty little nursery.  The only purchase that seems within reason is books....and lots of them.  Austin and I went to McKay's bookstore this weekend where we proceeded to purchase a small library, already adding to the growing collection we had at home.  As a child, I absolutely loved books.  Some of my happiest childhood memories are connected to books, including summer trips with my mom to the local library where I would check out stack after stack.  I can still close my eyes and see the exact layout of that little library, the way it smelled, the excitement I felt walking in.  In my room at home, I had a "book chest", which was a large wicker chest filled with at least a hundred books (or so it seemed to me as a kid).  Each night, I got to select a book that either my mom or dad would read to me.  It's memories like this that I will always carry with me and make me deeply grateful for parents who invested in me.  I never remember being told "not tonight" or "let's read tomorrow night" or "mommy is too tired."  I want to be this type of parent, the type that invests in their children and always makes time for the seemingly insignificant things.  I knew I was deeply loved, not just because my parents told me, but because they always made time for me.  My prayer is that Austin and I will parent this way, that we will be intentional to create memories like this.  I realize our child may not adore books as I did, however, I want him to never doubt that he is loved and important.  

Thanks for all your prayers, please continue to remember us and our little one!  We love all of you!