God STILL performs miracles

Yes, He does.

And this new little baby growing in my belly is proof...

God has taught me some very valuable lessons over the past years:

1.  Trust in Him-- not just some of the time, ALL of the time.
2.  Pray to Him--again, not just some of the time, ALL of the time.
3.  Believe in Him--claim His promises, ALL of the time.
4.  Love Him--even when we don't like the answer, ALL of the time.
5.  Praise Him--no matter the outcome, ALL of the time.

Watch...God will perform miracles in your life.  He does every day, but sometimes we are "too busy" to notice his work in our lives.  I am very guilty of this, I am not perfect, and I fall short of my list above everyday.  I go through each day, rushing around in the mornings to get ready for the day, plugging away at work from 7:15 to 4:15, picking up the kids from daycare...all along not even noticing the "little" things God has done for me.  Not to mention the HUGE things He has done such as...allowing us to get pregnant without ANY fertility treatments or medicines.

About 7 months ago, I got serious about my eating and weight loss.  Yes, weight loss, I STILL had not lost all of my baby weight from the twins when I had them...4 years ago!  I joined a group called Versus at the end of 2012, but I really didn't take it seriously until January of 2013.  God put a very special person in my life, Jamie, to whip me into shape...and that she did!  At the beginning of the year, I competed in challenges, was clean eating all the time, running 6 miles, lifting 35# kettle bells, doing 100 push-ups in a day...needless to say, I was in the best shape of my life.  I was doing what I should have been doing for years..."Treating my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit...and honoring God with my body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)  I honestly believe God performed a miracle in me because I was truly honoring Him in all that I did.  God knows the desires of our hearts, and He knew that there was no way our family would attempt the stress of fertility treatments again.  He has a plan, and it's always better than our plans.

Rewind about 6 1/2 years when I was diagnosed with Stage 4 endometriosis and a cyst the size of a grapefruit on my ovary.  An extensive surgery a couple of weeks after the diagnosis, and I was on the road to being well and free from pain.  However, even after having that done, we still were not able to get pregnant.  As many of you may have read back to our first post http://jerryandbethaniedefatta.blogspot.com/2009/08/in-beginning-there-were-two.html  we tried just about everything possible before IVF to get pregnant, and nothing seemed to work.  So, we took the next steps in proceeding with IVF with a doctor by the name of Dr. Hines.  He is an amazing, wonderful doctor, and is someone I would recommend to anyone having fertility issues.  He is a great Christian man and truly wants the best for his patients.  I remember meeting with him for the first time...I was very unsure as what to expect.  I heard he was a "tell it like it is" man, blunt and to the point...and that he was.  While some would not like that in a doctor, I absolutely loved it about him.  The first appointment was the usual "look at your chart, discuss your fertility issues, explore your options, and make a plan."  It was an overwhelming visit in that after a short discussion with him, Dr. Hines response was:

"You are going to have to do IVF, I do not see another option for you"

As you can imagine, we were devistated, upset, and many other emotions that ran through our minds.  It is all still vivid in my mind.  You know the rest of the story...we proceeded with IVF, God provided the way the whole time, and we have two beautiful daughters that have stolen our hearts!

Now that we are pregnant again, the statement Dr. Hines made still stands out in my mind.  It is a constant reminder that God is completely and fully in control, and that we should NEVER doubt his ability to perform miracles in our lives. Jerry and I never thought in a million years that we would be where we are today, and I am so thankful that God reminds us of his omnipotence.  When I start to worry or doubt, it never fails I receive a text, e-mail or something that is a reminder of God being in control and to trust Him.

I am still wonderstruck by God and what he has done, and I would love to share with anyone our road of struggles with infertility and how God has proven to be faithful.

I once heard the quote:  "My greatest limitation is God's greatest opportunity."  He sure proved that with this baby!!

"God performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, and miracles that cannot be counted."  Job 5:9

Gulf Shores Beach 2011

In August, we went to Gulf Shores for a much needed vacation with the girls! We had a blast, and Eva Marie and Ella Kate loved it! None of us wanted to leave! We cannot wait to take them back. Ella Kate had fun playing in the sand, and Eva Marie had fun in the water. Eva Marie definitely has NO fear. She even floated in the ocean, and she did not want you to hold her hand; she just wanted to float by herself. Ella Kate was just content playing in the sand. I think she really probably would have stayed there the whole time. Give her a bucket and shovel, and she was fine! She did enjoy the pool too! The last day, we couldn't get in the water in the afternoon because tons of jellyfish came up; they were everywhere. If you have ever seen the movie "Finding Nemo," it was exactly like that....seriously. I wish I had gotten a picture on my camera of it. We are so thankful the girls loved the beach so much because their mommy and daddy sure do! It makes the trip go much easier! We ate some great food; the girls love eating fried fish!

FISH! we saw this the first day we were there. a guy was actually running the beach and casting his fishing rod in hopes of catching something in the middle of this...and he DID!
Awake and ready for the beach!

love...

Ella Kate would have stayed playing in the sand all day if I would have let her.

Eva Marie's first time floating in the ocean...she loved it.

love this picture of Jerry and Eva Marie

Eva Marie was "miss independant" with her floaties; she didn't want you touching her..she just wanted to float by herself

One of my favorites...

Babies to Toddlers

Toddlers, that is what our babies have become. These pictures show just how much they have grown up and do not look like babies anymore. Many days, it makes me sad that they are growing up so fast, but then I know I can't stop them from becoming little girls. They are so fun, and they say some of the funniest things to us. We love them so much and enjoying watching their personalities develop!

they love to play in our dining room curtains!
Me and my precious Eva Marie (or as Ella Kate likes to call her Eva-la-ria or Eva Maria)

Of course, I had to get one with my precious Ella Kate (or as Eva Marie likes to call her "ka ka"

Sweet times with my girls

They look so grown-up in this picture, and the next pictures that follow!

Look at Ella Kate's sweet face

Sweet Eva Marie

One of my favorite pictures of Eva Marie

Easely Amused

It has been forever since I posted. Life has been crazy since August. We are on the go all the time! It won't slow down either until after Christmas. We took a family vacation to the beach in August, and I still have to post pictures from that trip. Then, football season started, the girls 2nd BIRTHDAY PARTY, and then other children's birthday parties as well!

I promise to "try" and post pictures this week...we'll see!

One picture I HAD to post was from this past weekend. Kristi and I are childhood friends; literally since birth. Our mom's are good friends, and we grew up spending lots of time together! (I wrote a post about the girl's play date with her little girl)

When we were in high school and college, we ALWAYS got asked the question,

"Are y'all sisters?" It didn't matter where we were, if we were together, we got asked that question...even in gas stations in Starkville, MS!

So, Kristi had a couple of gift certifcates to Easely Amused, and she asked if I wanted to go with her. Of course I would, I love to paint and so does she! It just happen to fall on the same weekend as her little girl, Meredith's birthday, that we would be in town for; so we booked it! We had so much fun painting and catching up on everything that has been going on in our lives. We finished our painting and decided to take a picture with our finished product...and what do we get asked??....."Are y'all sisters?" we just started laughing.

Even in our 30's, we still get asked that same question! We are planning to do this again soon!

Kristi and me with our paintings "New Day"

I think I am going to frame mine and hang it in our dining room!

4th of July weekend!

I know, it's a month later, and I am just now posting pictures from 4th of July weekend at the camp in Bay St. Louis! Life has been a little busy lately, with football season coming up and the girl's 2nd birthdayy party; my mind is running in a million directions!

Enjoy the pictures!

Eva Marie loves to slide; even in a pool...ready, set...
GO!

They love playing with buckets/cups, etc!

Cheese!

Aunt JuJu and Eva Marie

They LOVE boiled corn!

They had marshmellows dipped in chocolate with festive sprinkles!

She loved the chocolate

Father's Day Weekends...

I know this post says, "Father's Days Weekends..." well that is because Jerry wasn't in town on actual Father's Day; so we had to do his pictures with the girls a weekend later! I absolutely love this picture of Jerry and the girls. Eva Marie and Ella Kate are getting such personalities, and it's funny to see how they "pose" in pictures now. Eva Marie especially is such a little ham for the camera! We finally got pictures of the girls with my dad...I don't think he has had a picture with both of them since they were little! We finally got a picture with Melanie, my sister, and the girls too! AND, we got a picture of all the grandkids. That was a difficult task; trying to get everyone to smile at the same time, sit still, not to stand up, not to make silly faces, etc, etc, etc! This picture that Beth, my sister-in-law, took of the kids is great. She is a photographer and takes great pictures...go see her work at www.bethhontzas.blogspot.com

My favorite picture of Jerry and the girls!
Love this sweet picture too, of Jerry and Eva Marie

All the grandkids from left to right: Athena, Shelby, Parker, Ella Kate, and Eva Marie!

My dad and the girls!

Melanie and the girls!

Eva Marie heard a fire truck near my parents house, and she thought it was the best thing ever!