Today is the day!

I am so excited, nervous and a load of other emotions. Tonight at 10pm I will be checking into the labor and delivery floor to get induced.

Last night I went to bed for the last time in my bed as a mom of one, today I woke up for the last time as the same. I have such a flood of emotions going on in my mind right now. I am so thankful and so blessed to be able to have children of my own. I am so thankful that he is healthy and all our scares are gone with him. I am so thankful that Mark gets to have a boy, and that I get to watch him teach Judah how to be a man on all the different levels he needs to be. I am so thankful that I get to experience being a mom to "one of each". I know my relationship with Ava is going to be very different from the one I will have with Judah, and I am excited to explore that. I am a little nervous however about the whole diaper changing area........I mean I have never had to clean one before. To much information for some I know.....but I'm nervous about it! Really!

As I put Ava to bed last night I realized it was going to be my last day alone with her today. I know we will have dates and we can do things alone too, but it's the last time it will be just her. Her life is about to change too. I can't say that it's not a little bitter-sweet for me. I have loved every minute I have had with her. I have loved devoting every second of my every day to her. I have loved all the talks and sweet things we have shared. This time is not over, but will just be different for a little bit. I can't imagine how I will split my time. It hurts my heart to think that she will not get all of my attention anymore.

As I have thought about all the things that will make it sad for me, I also know there are soooo many things that I am going to love about having two kids. I know there will be many times of seeing Ava kiss her brother and see more and more what a big sister means. I know it will be so cute to watch her soak it all in for the first time that she sees him. I know that it will be amazing to watch her live out her "list" of all the things that she has said she wants to do with him. I know that in the months and years to come there will be so many laughs and giggles coming from their rooms and they play together and enjoy life together. I know Mark and I will get our share of side splitting laughs as we watch them interact together and listen to the conversations that they will have together. I know it's going to be a blessed life watching these two together. I know it is going to be a blessing for Ava to not be an only child. We have so much fun together, but I also watch her sometimes when we are home, and I know she gets board with just us here, I know this will be good for her to have a built in play mate and friend. I know I am going to love watching her teach Judah, and most likely correct him if he does or says anything wrong.....my little child of order.

There is much that I will miss, but so much that I am looking forward to. I love this life that I have been blessed with and I am forever thankful to God for trusting us with two (maybe more) precious gems to look after while here on earth.

So here's to my last blog as a mommy of one........so looking forward to being a mommy of two!

I know.....I know......

It's been ages!!! Over a year to be exact. I had to decide that I wanted to be back in the blog world. I wanted to keep in touch with so many of my friends that live out of state and refuse to have facebook......Becca.

I realized how much I love reading others blogs and hearing all the crazy funny things their kids say and do.

The last year has brought quit a bit of changes and challenges for us. Mark and I are no longer working at our church as youth pastors, and that has been a difficult thing to deal with and to move on from. But for everything there is a season, and we are looking ahead to what God wants to do and will do in our lives from this point on. We are looking at moving most likely out of state, but we are willing to do anything as long as we know God is in it. I would love to move back to Tulsa, but we shall see. So many good memories there and so many good friends left behind, it's hard to not want to go back.

Mark is now working for Apple in their call center, answering phone calls and helping people with their computer problems, and fixing other peoples issues all day. He basically is one hot handsome geek =) Love that guy! He works so hard, sometimes 60+ hours a week so I can stay home with Ava. It is so important to both of us that I am home with her, and he makes it happen. He is amazing!

We also found out in February of this year that we were expecting our second baby! So as time has flown by already, I am laying on our couch right now 39 weeks pregnant and ready to pop at any given time. Really so ready! So we will be welcoming our little Judah Ryan Stabe any day now. I am hoping at any second my water will break and I can call Mark squealing that its time...............................................

nope hasn't happened yet =)

So here is to starting up my blog again and giving it another whirl...hoping to stay with it this time. Why I am starting it again right before I will be giving birth I have no idea.

Here are some favorite photos from the last year that you all have missed out on!

While eating out, Ava told me she was "zesting her lemon"

We watch too much food network apparently.

Pregnant with Judah......36 weeks in this one.

Best friends came for a visit, May 2010

Judah Ryan due October 29, 2010

Summer fashion show 2010

The new Jr. Miss potato head

The princess of the Stabe home

Getting some sweet snuggles in San Francisco

Who went potty?

So I know that I have not posted some photos in a while, but this blog could not wait any longer. Ava has just been the joy of our home lately. I know every child is to their family, but she has made me laugh so hard daily!
In the apartment that we live in now, its a little bit of an older building. They recently remodeled all of it, so its really pretty, but still really old. We can hear everything that goes on with our neighbors upstairs, I mean everything. Moving right along.......... Ava and I were sitting at the kitchen table together a few days ago enjoying some breakfast together (have I mentioned how much I LOVE being a mom?) and our neighbors upstairs went potty and flushed the toilet. When they flush the toilet it sounds like you will be engulfed with waves at any moment, so Ava looked at me with a sense of panic and then realized someone went potty. So the words that came out of her mouth made me stop chewing dead in my tracks and roll with laughter.
She looked at me with a little bit of a confused look on her face and asked " Jesus go potty?"
I'm telling you I couldn't stop laughing, it made my day within a hour of her being up that morning. I thought that it was kind of smart at the same time. Somehow she has made the connection that Jesus is up above us.
So funny, she is the joy of my life.
I will post some new pictures soon!

It's ok Jesus knows.....

So my dear sweet little Ava has been living on the ground lately. I mean almost everyday this little girl knee dives into the pavement. I really don't think that her left knee has ever healed, its just constantly scabbed over. Sweet girl, it breaks my heart every time.
This last time that she cut up her knee, was Wednesday morning. She was outside with a friend of ours taking our dog to go potty and she hit the ground hard. Doesn't really cry anymore, she's just used to the pain I guess.
She comes inside and asks mommy to kiss her boo-boo, then a little while later, as if she's now 18 and understands life more then I do, she looks at me and says " It's ok Jesus knows."
Talk about taking your breath away. My baby just comforted herself knowing that Jesus knows that she just scrapped her knee. There was no crying, no fussing, she was just ok with it. I look at her and think, "God does that bring a smile to your face or what? It makes me proud, must make you happy."
She is a gem for sure.

We now also sing Jesus loves me all by our little self. It's beyond precious, and makes me tear up every time. The best part is when she gets to the line "they are weak, but he is strong", she flexes her arm muscles so hard that her face turns red and she grunts the word strong. Its so cute.
I am so thankful that I know the Lord and I can teach my little one and the ones to come about his goodness, that He even cares about when they cut their knee, and I know He does. From her earliest memories she will know about Him and His goodness. And that's the best thing I can offer her is to introduce her to a loving, caring and generous saviour. I'm forever thankful for His goodness.

Best buds. Its so cute he follows her everywhere now.


we went to the San Diego zoo in June, and this
was Ava's reaction to the monkey. she was so excited!



so happy to be at the beach, she laughed every time
a wave came and hit her little legs.



yes she came out of me and looks just like him!

Getting some birthday kisses from my hunny!

Our new hat, its so cute, and I think she knows it =)

Mommy and Ava at a San Diego beach

Its true the camera adds 10 pounds. Still cameras too ok?

My FAVORITE picture from our trip. She loved the ocean.

She kept saying the ocean is beautiful!

Well it has been such a long time since I have made a post! My how time flies! Especially when you are having fun! Since my last post I have had my 27th(yikes!) birthday, we had a mini vacation to San Diego, had my 6th niece welcomed into the world, with one more to make her debut in September, and so much more.

Life has been a tad crazy in the Stabe home in the past month. In the last month we have had our car broken into twice, about $1500 worth of car and stereo equipment taken, with insurance only paying a fraction of that, our a/c in one car went out and while they had it in the air checking it out they noticed that the tires were literally hanging on by a thread (they were 5 years old) so we had to fix that, so mind you the a/c was put on hold! Ya with the crazy hotness we have had in Sacramento lately, its not fun! Then the screen on my iphone cracked and broke, and that night I realized that Ava's beloved goldfish Dorthy had passed and needed to be flushed. So much in so little time has gone wrong. It's actually amazing when I look at it all here written in front of me.

But what rings true in my mind is God's faithfulness. I know that He works all things together for the good of those who love him, and what the enemy meant for evil HE will use for good. I get really down and out when I think about all that has gone wrong and sometimes I wonder what will come next, but I know that is right where the enemy wants me. Stiff and unwilling to move out of fear for the next round of hits. I have to much to lose if I think that way, and I have so much to gain if I press on knowing God is my source and my vengeance in this life. I am but a vapour life is so short and I have to much to be grateful for.

I have a little girl who while I was flushing her pet fish said "bye bye dorfy, see you later" (and yes I tried to flush her without Ava seeing, this little girl sprinted back to the toilet right as dorthy was circling down). I need her child like faith, knowing that mommy and daddy are too good to let her go without her "dorfy". I know God is faithful and I have a wonderful little girl and my best friend that I married to carry me through.

To God be all glory and honor and praise, the best is yet to come!!

Sometimes you have to ask why.

Things have been going well for us as a family these last few weeks. Which is good considering our circumstances. God is faithful and we have not missed a bill, and always had enough for food. Although there have been weeks that we don't know how we will buy food or pay our bills, our pastor finds ways to help us and get us extra side jobs to make money, and although my parents are financially struggling,they help where they can and give us money for food. They are great!
But today was a day that although things are going good for us and we see God working everyday on our behalf, today I had to ask why God, why?
I got up and planned my day and got Ava all dressed and myself ready and headed out the door to get the first of many things checked off of my list. I walked to my car to find the passenger window smashed in and my dashboard torn to pieces. The stereo and cd player were gone and the surrounding area ripped apart. The starter looked as if something was shoved into it, but I'm not sure. Marks tools are gone, all of them that he uses for work, gone. I would say about $700 -$1000 worth of tools, gone. Ava's diaper bag was gone as well. It had some clothes and her summer shoes and her bow she had in her hair yesterday, gone. They did however leave her dress she had on yesterday and her diapers and powder on the passenger seat on top of the shattered glass. So we had thoughtful thieves, leaving us her diapers, thank you. I guess.
I stood there holding on to my little bean feeling so vulnerable. Mark is at work and I'm standing there looking at my car thinking "Why God, Why" We cant afford this, how are we going to fix this? Why in all the midst of us trusting you for every penny that comes our way, would this happen?
I don't understand why this happened or how it will all get taken care of, but one thing I do know is my God is faithful. He doesn't give us more then we can handle, and He works all things together for the good of those who love him. I know God knows and he cares. I trust Him and I know that He knows every part of my day, and he knows how this will all work out. I don't think that you can really understand all that God does, or God allows, but I guess that's the beauty of trust. You have to know that you will be taken care of. I don't run my life, I don't make my heart beat every second, I cant control if I eat, but God does. He is good all the time,and all the time he is good.
Thank you to those of you who support our ministry and pray for us on a daily basis. Pray for us with this latest hit, and favor for it all to be taken care of.
For those of you who have no clue what we are doing, please check it out at www.compel2020.com Its really amazing and even more so that we get to be apart of this movement of God in northern California! We also need more supporters. I'm just gonna put that out there. We're all friends right, lets be honest we need more people to step up and help us accomplish this goal! Well that's a whole other blog =) I'm going to stick to my car and figure out how to go about this for today =)
Thanks for reading and caring, I'll let you know how this all pans out!

5 Years and counting!

Today we are celebrating our 5th year of being married! It does, yet doesn't seem like it's been that long. When I stop and think of all of the most amazing memories that we have had together it overwhelms me. Mark and I started dating when I was a senior in high school, and yes we went to my senior prom together. AWWWWE!

We dated for 2 1/2 years long distance while Mark was in Oklahoma going to school. Yes those were the most trying, difficult, stretching, yet oh so rewarding times of our relationship. But God is faithful and brought us through it, and now we look back at those times fondly knowing God was our source of strength and our saving grace that lead us to where we are now.

In 5 short years we have lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma making some of the most amazing best friends we will ever have! And oh do we miss them all so! We found out by shock and awe that we were going to welcome our first child into our lives, and decided to make the move home to be with our family when our sweet Ava made her appearance. Watching her grow and do this together has been the joy of my life. Mark is such an amazing dad and a wonderful husband, I couldn't ask for anything more. This year has definitely been the most challenging, and lets face it, the most stressful of our whole marriage. But like I said and will always say, God is faithful and is making us stronger day by day.

God thank you for blessing me with this life and for giving me such an amazing man to share it with, when we both know its only by your grace that I deserve it.

Happy 5th anniversary babe, the best is yet to come!

Here are a few of my favorites from our wedding!