The 3 shall become 4!

In my last post I mentioned that some things were going on that kept me from blogging much last month. I wasn't able to say then what they were because my parents didn't even know, but the cat is out of the bag now! In case you missed it on facebook, here's Riley sharing the news with his daddy several weeks ago...



We found out on April 5th that another little Bramlett will be entering the world...on or around December 10th. :) We were very shocked and not quite sure what to think at first. You see, this was not part of our 'plan.'

About a year ago, Daniel came to me and asked that I begin praying about adoption. He felt very compelled that we needed to adopt, and he wondered what my thoughts were. I was pretty taken off-guard, and honestly, I wasn't too keen on the idea. I told him I would pray about it, but was a bad wife and basically pushed the thought right out of my head. He came back a couple of months later and asked if the Lord had revealed anything to me. It was then that I had to admit that I hadn't even prayed once about it. I was scared! I had so many questions. What if I don't love an adopted child as much as Riley? Do I want to have any more biological children before possibly adopting? Can we afford to adopt? And the list went on and on. But, I promised my husband I would begin praying, so I did.

Slowly, but surely, the Lord began opening my heart to adoption. He answered questions for me through movies, magazine articles, books, friends' testimonies, etc. It seemed as if everywhere I turned, I was hearing or reading something about an adopted child and how their life was changed through that action. Finally, at the beginning of this year, I surrendered to the idea and Daniel and I committed to do whatever it took to "rescue" a child and bring them into a home filled with love and care. We started the process of figuring out which agency we wanted to work with (or did we even want to go through an agency?), we told our families and close friends so they could begin praying, and then the week before we found out I was pregnant, we told the church. We were excited and ready to find our child!

And then, there was this! Honestly, when I found out, I was very upset because I felt like we had disobeyed God. He clearly told us we were to adopt, and I've always believed that delayed obedience is still disobedience. Later that afternoon, though, I spent a long time with the Lord and He spoke such peace over me. He reminded me that children are a gift from the Lord, and this child is no different! He/She is not a mistake, and He has a plan for his/her life! Yes, we are still called to adopt. A positive pregnancy test does not change that, and He still expects us to be obedient to that command. It just won't all work out the way our finite minds had planned it! Come to think of it, when does it ever?! He is in complete control, and His ways are ALWAYS better than ours! After I was reminded of all of this, I truly felt the peace that passes ALL understanding, and I became very excited about the newest addition to our family! I just know God is going to use him/her in a powerful way!

So, right now I am 9.5 weeks along, and we'll go tomorrow for my first ultrasound. I can't wait to see the little bean of a baby with a strong heartbeat! I'm trusting that everything is okay and we'll get a great report. I'll be sure to keep you updated. Oh, and the reason I didn't post more last month is simply because afternoons (when I normally would write) have become for NAPS recently. :) I've never been a good nap taker, but this baby has taken the energy right out of me! The thought of getting on the computer and writing a post just made me even more exhausted. Hopefully my energy will pick up again soon, but don't be surprised if the posts stay sporadic for a little while longer!