Merry Christmas!

Words cannot describe how excited we are for our first Christmas with Tanner. We wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May God bless you and keep you.

Tanner four weeks old tomorrow.

Well life as a new mommy has taking some getting use to BUT oh so worth it. I am in love with my son. He is sleeping more at night and staying awake more in the day. He is definately mommy's boy. I love talking to him and holding him. He is eating good and growing fast. Billy is such a good daddy and it helps that we take turns with the night feedings. It is great for bonding. He is a special little boy. Nani is protective of Tanner and we all make a great team. My favorite thing is all of us hanging in the living room with a fire in the fireplace and the Christmas tree lights on and just being together. I love my boys all three of them. BILLY, TANNER, and NANI.

Tanner Heath Spivey has arrived!

Psalm 139:13-14 (New International Version)

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

Indescribable...Unexplainable...

He created this, He know us by name...

Tanner Heath Spivey

Born 11/10/09 6:47pm

7 pounds, 7 ounces

19 inches

Tanner's big day!

So I had a Dr. appt. today and looks like my litle guy will be here on Tues. They are inducing me on Monday and I am so excited and nervous at the same time. I am so ready to meet our son. He has had some issues with his kidney and now my amniotic fluid is low so they want to get the baby out safe and soon. I know God is in control because this morning I prayed for his will to be done not mine. I want what is best for this child. Please pray for us. Now I have all weekend to think about the big day. I wonder what he will look like. Mommy loves you Tanner!

Ready to meet our son.......

Well God is so good. I had a Dr. appt this morning and already dialated one cm. That just means we are under way. It means he could come tonight or next week. Basically
it is all up to Tanner at this point. Our little boy is already running the show. Ha Ha Billy and I are so ready to meet him and hold him. God is so good! We know he is in complete control. I am just staying busy and getting through moment by moment. His room is completely done except for putting up a few shelves and we hope to get those up today. I love his room because it is so peaceful and calm. We are so blessed with family and friends who have helped us and been there for us. We truly would not have what we have without all of you. So thank you! There are two scripture verses that I am clinging to at this point. "I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me." Phillipians 4:13 and "May the Lord continue to bless you and your children." Psalms 115:14 (THE MESSAGE). I know God is with us. I am posting a few pictures of his room so far and will post more later!

37 weeks and counting......

I am so ready to meet our son. I love this little boy so much. He is very active tonight and I know he is ready to meet us as well. His room is almost done and I love the way it is so cozy and calm in there just like I had hoped. I will post pictures in a couple weeks after it is completely finished. Just waiting for his chair and putting up a few shelves. Well getting close. I know God has his hands on us. The verse I am clinging to is "I can do all things through christ who strengthens me." (Including labor ha ha)

Sept. 24th 2009

Wow! Hard to believe that I am over 32 weeks pregnant already. Billy and I are so blessed. Today I thought I was meeting Billy at work to put Tanner on our insurance, go to lunch, and go shopping and turns out that they were having a surprise pot luck for us at his office. What a blessing and huge surprise. I am so grateful. Billy works with some wonderful people and we are so fortunate. I have my 33rd week check up on Mon. and then the following Thursday October 8th we go back to Shand's for another sonogram. I know God is taking care of our son. He moves all the time. No particular time of day anymore just whenever he feels like it. I feel great too. Besides getting tired. I know this will be a big kid. I know he will be so special and I can not wait to hear him call me mommy. Today was great and I thank God for all he continues to bless us with. Not only has my Faith been stronger through this I know what it is like to truly turn things over to My Heavenly Father. I have complete trust in HIM!

30.5 weeks...

We had a great visit at Shands on 9/11/2009! On a day we took time to honor and remember the fallen heroes of the United States, we had a chance to celebrate the upcoming life of our son! By measurement, he is weighing over 4 pounds! His left kidney remains enlarged, probably due to obstruction, but it has not enlarged much further since our last visit. The doctor was pleased with that, so we praise God for answered prayer! When the nurse was taking the measurements, Tanner was hiding his face behind his arms...playing coy peek-a-boo already...

When the doc came in, Tanner showed us his face! WOW!!!!! Here are the pictures we got to see...

Here is his mouth and nose! These are the same pics, we just rotated them...



Here is his little face!



And here it is rotated...


It is safe to say that God knows exactly what he is doing!

Ecclesiastes 11:5
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

29 weeks and counting........

Well Praise God I had a good check up today! All blood work came back normal and we are so happy about that. I go next Friday for another sonogram. Little Tanner is growing and growing. I am such a proud mama. His room is all painted. Thanks to his grampy. (Billy's dad) And his closest doors have been fixed thanks to his papa. ( my dad) And the room is all emptied out and clean thanks to his daddy and uncle Seth. This baby is so loved and everyone is eager to meet him. I am at such peace thanks to Jesus my Savior. He is in total control and for that I am thankful. Now we just get to fill up his room with all his new stuff. I can not wait for my church shower in 2 weeks. I am so excited to have a church family that loves us so much. Well that is it for now. God is so good!

27 1/2 weeks...

What a wonderful day we had today! We had a visit to Shands for a level 2 ultrasound today. We were very pleased. Tanner is weighing about 2.8 pounds at 27 1/2weeks! He has a blockage in his left kidney, but the doctors are feeling quite confident that it is not effecting anything else at this time. We have known about it for some time; we know that God is in control and continues to protect Tanner! We continue to be bold in our prayers, and know that God knows what He is doing and does not need our directions!

This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.

~1 John 1:5


Here we are just after the ultrasound! I told Mendy it looks like we are showing off our catch from a fishing trip!


Look at my Spirit-filled wife! This is my best friend, and it is a privilege to see how God is moving in her, and through her!

And we had such a long morning, she posted up on the bed for a brief re-grouping!

As I approached with the camera, she and Nani, the guard-dog, looked at me like I was Paparazzi!

And here he is...

Tanner Heath Spivey!

God is so good!

My darling husband

Well I am 26 weeks already! Tanner is coming sooner than later! I love this little boy so much and I have not even officially met him yet. Billy is such a good husband. He bought me two more outfits tonight. So nice! I hope I do have another baby after Tanner just so I can get the most out of my maternity clothes. I am so blessed and I will not let the enemy rob me of the joy of being pregnant. God has blessed us with THIS child. His word tells me Chlildren are a reward from him. I know that to be true! Please continue to pray for our family and especially for our son Tanner!

Anxiety...

As a new father-to-be, anxiety is as common as rain in Central Florida...There is a 50% percent chance on a daily basis that it may or may not rain!

Where do you turn when anxiety begins creeping in? It is so easy to call on your friends, call on your mentors, call on your Pastor... It is so awesome that we have people in our lives, to help guide us in good direction. But in the end, God's Word gives me specific instructions...

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
~I Peter 5:6-7

That defines the difference! God is so good! We are so blessed, beyond measure, and are so excited to see what God is doing with Team Spivey on a daily basis. I love my wife! If you are ever planning on eating dinner with Mendy, request her lasagna! She hit a grand slam with that last night! Tanner is got a real commodity with his momma's love for cooking! Reminds me of how blessed I was to have my mom's cooking. The simple things we take for granted, are usually the lifelines that keep us going!

Tanner is getting Big!

How About That!

We had a good visit to Shands today! Here is Momma Spivey, all ready for action. Note the rosiness of her glowing cheeks...Wow... What an awesome God moment!

Here is Tanner! They said everything measures well and he is weighing 1.5 pounds now! 23 1/2 weeks. We are absolutely blown away.

Our Awesome God is trusting us with creation. That is enough to make me humbly fall to my knees and cry! One day at a time, one moment at a time...

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.

~James 4:10

In my 6th month already! Weeks 23 through 27!

Well all is going well with Tanner and myself. We are now in the sixth month of pregnancy and I have another ultrasound on Tues. I can not wait to see how much my son has grown. Then we will start getting his nursery ready and the office ready. I love doing that stuff. I have so much fun fixing up the house and even more fun getting ready for the arrival of my baby! Just 17 weeks and he will be here. Give or take. Please continue to pray for his health and well being. August we have lots planned as well as Sept. then we start all the classes and November will be here before we know it.

Saturday with Team Spivey

Billy's working at Habitat House...


Mendy and Tanner are headed to Andrea's Shower upin Citra (and looking stunning)...


And Nani is trying to figure out where his next treat is coming from!

A great parenting tip...

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
~Micah 6:8

I love when the Word of God gives me insight on how to live life. We can read it, we can observe it, we can memorize it...But WE MUST apply it! I get such a warped, OCD-ish idea that I can "control things" and "can fix things" by directing people, places, and things around me. What a self-centered lie! I have been hovering over Mendy and Tanner with worry. (oh, yeah, we named our son- Tanner Heath Spivey!!) Worry is not of God, not at all! It is me attempting my management skills, once again, under the delusion that I have arrived; I have the power. There is only One who has the power, and I am not talking about He-Man! "He is the King of Glory, and He is everything to me" (I love Third Day) I can't, He can, I think I am going to let Him!!

Happy 4th of July!

We hope everyone as a safe and relaxing Fourth of July Weekend! Here is a picture of "The Spive" from yesterday, July 2, 2009. We were so fortunate that his Mi-Mi/Grammy/Grandma Spive got to come a meet him with us! What a great experience! Better than any fireworks show we may see this weekend. Praise God!

We are praying for his health, his momma's health, and wisdom and discernment to be the parents that God has designed us to be. We are Trusting God, Loving Others, and Investing our Lives for the Glory of God!

We have movement!

Look at this beautiful sight! Praise God for His creation!

The coolest of cool! On Friday, June 26, Mendy was asked to speak at a Spiritual Gathering for NA at Ginny Springs and I spoke at a CA meeting here in Ocala. At the end of the night, Mendy and I were praying together, and I had my hand on her womb. We felt "the Spive" move for the first time together!! It was incredible, especially since we were in His Presence...

God is so available at all times!!! Take some time and seek Him today!

Doctor visit

Well I am happy to say that I had a good check up today and heard our little guy's heartbeat. I have another ultrasound on July 2nd for our regular 20 week visit. So we are excited to see how our baby has grown in those two weeks. Billy and I have not decided on a name yet BUT we are getting very close. He actually has a book about the history of the Spivey family and we found a few names in there that we like. We had one name that we were leaning toward out of the baby book and it seems to be very common so we have preceded to look at names in other places. I have found a website for nursery ideas. Very sweet! I like sophisticated with a touch of nature. No themes or characters.( I am sure we will get enough of that when he is able to tell us what he wants) We are having fun deciding what his name will be and we don't feel the need to rush it. He will have the right name that will fit him. I am so in love with this child. I talk to him everyday and so does hid daddy for that matter. Billy has been so involved with this pregnanacy. Helping out, reading books, going to appts., and putting up with me and my headaches. I found out today that headaches are very common so that is a relief but still my head hurts a lot some nights. Anyway, I am thankful that we are moving right along. We will put up more pictures next week at the next ultrasound. Until Then.........

More than Words...

Joshua 24:14-15 (New International Version)

14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."


Faithfulness is not an intention, it is an action. We love serving the LORD!

Headaches...

Y'all lift up Mendy in prayer...Her head is killing her tonight!! I am running around trying to help, but the hub-ster can sure get in the way! Mommies, If you have any tips, please let her know! Daddy's...please help a brother out!


We Love You!!

;-}

Jellybean revealed...It's a...

In January 2009, I was reading in the book of Genesis. My daily Bible reading/journaling had me there.

On the 6th, I read chapter 17. One verse caught my attention. In v.16, the Lord tells Abraham "I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her..." So, I wrote it down.

On the 7th, I was writing in my journal after reading. On that morning, two verses in Genesis 18 caught my attention...

v.10 Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife, will have a son."

I said "yeah right.."

then in v.14 He said, "Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."



It is funny how we de-personalize or de-tatch the scripture from ourselves. My first thought was, "This is the story about Abraham...God isn't talking to me...It is a story about someone else...". BUT the even funnier thing is, "the Voice of Truth tells me a different story..."



I wrote this prayer on Jan. 7, 2009:

"You have shown me this twice! Two days worth. I feel you are showing me favor. It does not get any better than that. I love You so much, Lord! Thank You! I have Hope for a child. Matter of fact, Lord God, I can't wait. I will give that child all that you keep giving me. You are so amazing Lord. I love You. In Christ's name..."


Well...I guess we ought to consider changing Mendy's name to Sarah...She is having a son!!! Look at Mendy! This is 15 minutes before we found out. She is so beautiful! Radiant at 18 weeks to the day!


Here he is, The Spive!!!


We were blown away laughing, full of joy....

and Praising God for His creation!! We are in awesome wonder that he has planned for us to raise this boy!!! According to Romans 8:28, It is all good, and in our house, WE LOVE GOD!!

...AMEN

One of those moments...

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
~Ephesians 5:25-27

I love the moments in life when we realize how blessed we are! Husbands, we have been given the privilege to love our wives the way that Jesus loves us! When I think about the fact that Jesus Christ lives within my wife's heart, that completely levels my ego, my pride, my selfishness, and self-centeredness! By serving her, I am serving Him! That is awesome!

These words describe Mendy to me...Radiant, Without Stain, Without Blemish, Holy, and Blameless.

I have been given more than beyond measure!

I love you, Mendy.

first pregnant photo

Me at 17 weeks pregnant A.K.A past four months and into my fifth. Praise God! I love being in the pool and have alot of energy, but I do get 10 to 12 hours of sleep each night. I have had some very vivid dreams lately including me on the kneeboard at 9 months pregnant. Ha Ha!! I do not think that will work. Although I will be at the Lake as much as I can this summer but probably more likely to be in the hammock or on the boat. Ahhh the good life. Well I will be in touch. One more week until we find out what we are having. June 16th can not come fast enough.

All the little mama's

It is so exciting to be pregnant with other women. These are my friends Erika and Colleen. Colleen(middle) is due October 21st, Our anniversary. Erika is due Nov. 12th and myself Nov. 17th. We are going to have a bunch of beautiful babies at Church of Hope in the fall. It is so nice being able to talk to women who are going through exactly what I am at the same time. This picture was taken at Pastor Mark's house for Emily's graduation party. Lots of fun!!!!

Our first post together

Well, its good to get all the firsts out of the way!! We are so excited to have the chance to share our journey to parenthood with all of our family and friends, near and far. BUT...we must not forget to introduce you all to Nani. We cannot agree on what to call him..our fur baby, our little boy, the super dog...here is a picture for you to decide for yourself.

WARNING: He is the most ferocious canine on the Northside of town!

He is our little angel! He loves us unconditionally and we love him right back. Don't know what he is going to do when he has to share our attention with the new baby. I am sure he will adapt though. Nani is a good boy. THE BEST actually.

If I could only be the person my dog thinks I am...

Mendy's First Post!

I am so excited to become a mommy. I can not even put into words the feeling of a human being growing inside of me. This little miracle baby will be part me and part Billy. Look out world. I hope this baby is smart like its daddy. On June 16th we find out if it is a boy or girl. Then we can call it a he or she. I can not wait to see our little one on the 4D ultrasound. God is so amazing! Life has it's ups and downs. I know with God we can handle whatever comes our way. I am finally 17 weeks and feeling good. I am over all the nausea and besides going to bed at ten and sleeping until eight I can not say that I have any bad side effects. Well I do have to run to the bathroom every 12 minutes but other than that I am thankful that I can cook, clean, and run errands. Until Later!!

Hello out there!

This is the first post from Billy! I am so excited to begin this journey with my wife, my dog, and our baby "Jellybean" who is under construction! Praise God!