The New Bed and Crawling

A couple of weeks ago, Halle came to me and wanted to know why she was the only one who did not have a big girl bed in the house. Halle sleeps in a toddler bed and Grace in a twin. My heart sank. I felt so bad for her. She told me she wanted a big girl bed. I knew right then I was going to start looking for a bed for her. Tim and I tossed around the idea of bunk beds, and for many reasons decided they were not for us. So, the choices were a twin for Halle or a full for both of them to sleep in. I was leaning towards the twin for Halle, but after measuring everything in their room, the twin would fit, but it would look really awkward in there. To top it off we wouldn't have been able to leave the dresser in there. The room is really big, but with the way the door, window, and closet are placed there are not many options to work with. All that being said, we decided to go with the full bed. They have slept in a full bed before, and did really well with it. We figure if it doesn't work, that bed will eventually go in the spare room down stairs. Tim picked up the mattresses today, but the headboard and footboard are not in yet. Tonight is their first night in their bed together. I can tell Halle feels like a big girl. That makes me so happy! They are in there laughing and talking as I type this. It brings joy to my soul after a long day today!! Here are some pictures of them before we turned the lights off. And now, one of my big Halle girl!! So happy to be in her big girl bed!

I also wanted to add that Avery started crawling today. Today is my Mom's birthday. What a nice treat for my Mom. Avery showed off her new skill tonight for Mom as we celebrated her birthday. I know my Mom missed celebrating her birthday with her Mom today, but what an awesome remembrance of the Lord giving and taking away. Once again I am reminded of my Grandma through Avery Margaret!

Give and Take

We got pregnant with our 3rd child around the time we were going through some tough things. God knew we needed a joy in our life at that time. Little did we know what this little baby would mean to us. I was very close to my Mom's Mom - my Grandma (and am still close to my Grandpa). My Grandma got sick this past December and was in the hospital for a week. She was then sent to a nursing home to go through some physical therapy and she was then going to be sent home if all went well. She took a turn for the worse on the Saturday before Christmas. She was admitted to the hospital and put into the ICU. She knew through all of this that she was dying. The nurses and Dr.'s said she was not, but she was sure that she was. On Sunday, the day before Christmas Eve, Mom got a call saying Grandma was wanting to see her. We left church early and Mom, Lynn, Tim and I all went up to see her. Mom, went in first to see her and then came out and told Lynn and I to go in and say our good-bye's to her. The nurses and Dr.'s still were saying she was not dying, but Grandma knew she was. Lynn and I went back in the room with Mom. We walked through the doors and Grandma said to Lynn and I "your Grandma is dying, girls". Wow...I will never forget those words. We spent he next 15 minuets talking to her telling how much we loved her and would miss her. She brought up memories of Lynn and I. We laughed and we cried. I told her I was sad she would not get to meet this baby. I was 16 weeks pregnant and we had not found out what we were having at that point. I told Grandma that I thought it was a girl, so that is what we would go with. She laughed and said it probably would be! She then asked for Tim. It was a precious moment to be in her room with my Mom, Lynn and my husband saying good-bye to her. God is good. Fast forward to that night - too many details to type out. I got home from our Christmas celebration with my Mom's side of the family and my Mom called to tell me that Grandma had died. Another moment I will never forget. Grandma did know she was dying - wow. I decided to meet the family at my Grandparent's house right after we heard the news. Up to this point in my pregnancy I had felt little flutters from the baby, but nothing that made me really stop and say, wow, that was the baby. We get over to my grandparents and we sit in the living room and start sharing memories of Grandma. As we are sitting there talking, the baby goes crazy and is kicking up a storm. It was the first time I KNEW it was the baby. It was as if God was saying to me "I give and I take away".


Tim and I agreed to find out the sex of the baby at the 20 week ultrasound. We decided to find out and not tell anyone. We did not find out the sex with our first two, so this was new to us. We went to our appointment 3 weeks after Grandma died and we found out we were having our 3rd girl. We were thrilled for many reasons and so thankful she was healthy. Weeks later Tim and I were discussing names and had a couple we liked. We both really like Avery, but couldn't settle on a middle name. One night we started talking about middle names. We use middle names that are after family members. So we listed the names we could use and Tim says what about Margaret - my Grandma's first name. I had never thought to use her name in the past. It then hit me like a ton of bricks - 1.) I told her we were having a girl, and she IS a girl. 2.) I felt the baby move right after she passed away. And 3.) at the funeral, my uncle gave the eulogy and ended with these words "AND SO WE CELEBRATE THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. MOM IS EXPERIENCING TRUE PEACE WITH THE LORD AND LISA IS 4 MONTHS PREGNANT WITH ANOTHER DESCENDANT OF MARGE AND GIL." After talking about all these things, Tim and I knew what her name would be ~ Avery Margaret. My Mom was in the delivery room when she was born and it was such an honor to be able to tell her we named her Avery Margaret. Tears were flowing.

I often look at Avery and wonder what my Grandma would think about her. I envision my Grandma holding Avery in her chair, just like she did with my other two girls.

(Grandma with Halle)

Avery will not know my Grandma and that saddens me more than I would like to admit, but she will carry on her name. What a special little girl Avery is to me. I find myself looking at Avery and reminded of Grandma. It is a constant reminder that God is in control and He does have a plan and a purpose. I am often asked if we were wanting a boy for our third because we already have 2 girls. How it hurts me when I am asked that. We wanted what God wanted for this family. He knew Grandma would die when she did and He knew Avery would be born when she was. He knew she would kick when she did and He knew I would tell Grandma it was a girl. So, did we want a boy? No, we wanted our little Avery Margaret!