Graduate School!

Today, we received some VERY exciting news. {No, we are not pregnant...}

RICH WAS ACCEPTED INTO GRADUATE SCHOOL!

He will begin his Masters in Music Education at the University of Illinois this summer down in Champaign-Urbana. It is a 3 year summer program, which will allow him to work during the academic year, and go to school during the summer! We are so excited for this opportunity. Not only will it be an incredible learning experience, but it will make him eligible for jobs at larger schools with larger programs, thus giving him more earning opportunity to provide for our family.

This is DEFINITELY an answer to prayer. We are so thankful to our Lord for this opportunity. We know that God is ultimately in control our lives, and it was His decision as to where Rich would go to graduate school.

Again, we know that the Lord is in control, so ours plans really don't mean anything to Him. But, here is a little layout of our plan- Lord willing!

June 2012- Rich heads down to U of I to begin Year 1 of graduate work. Oh yeah, also try to get pregnant! That could be tricky since we won't get to see each other except on weekends...

August 2012- Rich comes home to Woodstock to begin the Fall semester at Richmond-Burton High School. And hopefully we'll be pregnant.

April/March(ish) 2013- BABY STILES IS BORN!

June 2013- Rich begins Year 2 of graduate work

August 2013- Rich comes home

That way, we'll at least have one year of graduate work under our belts before we have a baby in our lives. We're pretty excited to see what the Lord will do over the next few years. I don't know what He has in store, but it's going to be pretty incredible!

Second Thoughts

The last couple of weeks have been a little rough. To be honest, I thought we were going to have to scrap the whole baby plan and wait until Rich finishes graduate school. To make a very long {and personal} story short, we hit a couple of financial bumps. Some unexpected expenses and bills really caught both of us off guard and made us questions our ability to provide for a baby right now.

I'll admit, I panicked and got a little hysterical. There were tears. Dramatic outbursts. Lots of doubt.

And my sweet husband was such a champ. He proved, yet again, how loving, supportive, compassionate and patient he is and just how lucky I am to have him! He listened as I explained the situation. He offered words of comfort. He hugged me tight when I got home. And he paid attention to me the rest of the night. What a guy. I am so blessed!

Anyway, things seem to be back on track.

And Rich & I are rock solid. I couldn't be happier to be living life with him.

Anxiety

Over the last year, I have come to realize the sinful nature of my anxiety. Before joining a fabulous Women's Bible Study at Harvest Bible Chapel, I thought my anxiety was something that I would always struggle with. I thought it was just part of who I am. Just like I have blue eyes. I am also extremely anxious.

Maybe this is obvious to everyone else, but for me this was a total awakening: anxiety is not just unhealthy, it is SINFUL, and the Lord speaks clearly about it's power over us.  For example:

1 Peter 5:7

"Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."

Philippians 4:6

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Matthew 6:25-34

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you- you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

  

When we allow our anxiety to control us, we are essentially telling God that we don't trust Him and His plan. We don't believe that He will take care of us. We can handle things ourselves. We know better. Now, I don't know about you, but when my mind starts going on a downward spiral of anxious thoughts, I don't feel very in control. I don't feel like my plans will work out. I don't feel like I can handle it. So wouldn't it actually be better to simply put our trust fully in HIM in those situations?

I have been really caught up in my own fear and anxiety over the last few days. I worry about so much, and I'm not even pregnant yet!! Thankfully, my sweet husband encouraged me to have a long quiet time yesterday to do just what 1 Peter says- cast my anxiety on Him. I was incredibly convicted of my recent anxiety.

My worrying won't help me get pregnant.
My worrying won't ensure a healthy pregnancy.
My worrying won't protect my future babies.
My worrying won't keep them healthy and safe.

Only JESUS can do those things. He is the one that knows exactly how many children I will have. He knows their names and birthdays. He knows what color hair they have. He knows how much they'll weigh when they are born.

I know that the Lord is going to grow me and teach me so much through having children. I just pray for strength and wisdom along the way.

Green Light

I have read a lot about scheduling a pre-conception appointment to discuss a wide variety of questions, such as:

Am I at risk for any problems?

Is my weight okay?

Do you recommend genetic testing?

Are there any health problems I should take care of before getting pregnant?

Can you recommend any prenatal vitamins?

{A more comprehensive list of potential questions can be found at The Bump}

I personally didn't feel the need to schedule a separate appointment, especially since my current doctor is about 1.5 hrs away. I had my yearly appointment with my gynecologist on Wednesday, and I called ahead to make sure I didn't NEED to schedule two appointments to discuss preconception. We were good to go!

Boring detail: I am currently on my parent's insurance since I am not yet 26, but I plan to switch to my own policy in January during open enrollment. My current ob/gyn is seriously the sweetest woman, and I am a little sad that I won't be able to have her as my doctor. But since, hypothetically, I'll be switching insurance while pregnant, one of the big questions I wanted answered was: are there any doctors in my area that my current doctor recommends? My doctor offered to review the doctors covered by my future insurance policy, and let me know which she recommends. Again, such a sweet lady!

March 1st marked 3 months until "go time", and my doctor & I discussed taking a vitamin that included at least 400 mcg of Folic Acid. I have been taking Women's One-A-Day multivitamin, and have about a month's supply left. Once I finish those off, I think I'll switch to an actual prenatal vitamin. Although, I admit I need to do a better job of remembering to take them every day! I need to do a little more research to see if there is actually a difference between the two. I also learned that you can get free prenatal vitamins with a prescription from Meijer! Pretty sweet, huh?

Other things discussed at my appointment: I stopped birth control back in July, so that's one thing off my to-do list. Rich & I have no reason to anticipate any problems getting pregnant, as there is no family history of infertility. Obviously, we are trusting in the Lord through this process, so we'll have to wait and see what He has in store for us. But we decided against doing any genetic testing or other things like that. In my opinion, that seems a little extreme- but again, we don't have a family history of any serious conditions.

So, all that said, I left my appointment feeling very encouraged having been given the green light to get pregnant! I cannot wait to be a Mom & have a Little Baby Stiles!

Time for a baby?

Around our 1st wedding anniversary (October 2011), Rich & I started talking about our future plans for babies. I've had "the fever" for a little while now, but I didn't want to pressure or overwhelm Rich. So we agreed to spend the next several weeks praying about it & looking to the Lord for guidance. Having children is not something that either of us want to rush into without a clear sign from the Lord.


So, we prayed. For a few weeks, Rich & I prayed individually. We prayed together. I asked a few close friends to be praying for wisdom and clarity. And we waited.


June.
June 2012. 
That was the date that kept being put on my heart. 


Rich & I sat down to talk about it a few weeks later. We both shared what the Lord was saying to us. And we agreed on June! That leaves us with about 6 months (4 months from now) to get ready. From January to June, Rich & I plan to:

• Make any updates/repairs to our house (Laundry room, handrails, etc.)
• Get healthier (lose weight, start prenatal vitamins, see doctor)
• Make a baby budget

We plan to use this blog to document our journey towards being a family of three!