Today is our due date

It is very strange for us to realize that today, August 21st, was our original due date. That's right, we are holding our little girl and thinking about the fact that she was originally not "due" or expected to come until today. We know that we're so blessed to have such a perfect gift from God because her early arrival could have brought a lot of complications but it has been nothing but wonderful. Holding her all we can think about is Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Even though we have heard that verse a million times, it's still hard to remember in our times of stress. When we found out Bryleigh was coming 4 weeks early, we were scared. We worried, stressed, cried, and wondered...is it too early?! In moments like that, it is hard for us to stop and remember that we are not in control of this situation. God is in complete control of our life and He knows what he is doing. He has a plan for us and His plan is not to make us suffer or stress but to give us hope and a future...our Bryleigh. Looking at the day we realize that if Bryleigh came in our time (today) it would not have been good timing. We would have missed Brenden's preschool orientation, Bobby would be starting a new job in less than a week, the nursery would still not be finished, Brooke would have been stressed out at school, and worse of all...we wouldn't have had Bryleigh for the past 4 weeks!

Today we give praise to God for all that He has done in our lives. We praise Him for being in control and for not waiting until our work schedule is convenient, until the nursery is complete, or until the timing is right in our eyes...we praise Him for being in control of our lives and for doing things in His timing and not our own. It is an amazing gift to be able to recognize this date and celebrate it with our new baby girl! We are so blessed and very thankful! :)