Oh wait, there's more!

As I was going through some pictures I realized there was a little bit of life going on in the weeks I was absent from the blog.

Lounging with Daddy.

Our youth group/ladies at church threw us a sweet baby shower.

Ah, yes, my belly was just a game. ;)

Beach visit with some friends.

Can't hit the beach without catching a crab!

Carson and Addie.

Fireworks on the beach.

Second round of fireworks with friends in Wewa.

Wewa puts on a good show!

Fireworks and friends.

Mini golf with our youth kids.

Cow Appreciation Day!

We had plenty to do to keep us busy as we waited for Olive's arrival, but trust me when I say we took plenty of time to rest, too.

I am thankful for the friends we have to share these fun memories! 

Let's play a little catch up

According to my last post before Olive arrived, I was about to roll over to 35 weeks in my pregnancy. Sheesh, seems like a lifetime ago now!

So, a little catch up before we can move on to the current happenings in our household.

At 36 weeks I had another ultrasound to check Olive's (at that time, still not 100% named) position. Sabian was not able to go to this appointment with me so it was just me, Addie and my growing belly. I was a little apprehensive about this since Addie would be sitting through the ultrasound with me and no Daddy to keep her from dismantling the place. She was awesome. She did so well, even when my ultrasound ran long as they were trying to get a good read on the baby's diaphragm movement. Not only that, but I still had to see the doctor after my ultrasound and then unexpectedly had to stay for a non stress test. This appointment was running much longer than normal and Addie was picture perfect through it all.

The verdict of this visit - baby was head down. Down? I was not expecting this news. I wasn't disappointed, rather, I was thrown for a loop. I fully expected to hear that she was still head up and it was time to schedule a C-section.

While I wasn't disappointed, the planner in me was now thinking of all of the possible scenarios that were presenting themselves - would I go into labor on my own? If so, when? Would I know/remember what to do? Should we go ahead and schedule a C-section, just in case? How long do we/can we wait? 

The next couple of weeks passed uneventfully. In fact, Sabian was at camp with our youth kids one of those weeks. I had been dreading that week, given that I was so far along and would be solely responsible for Addie while wielding my huge, aching self. But, thanks to great friends and plans I had made to keep us busy, the week passed quickly and without the appearance of baby.

At my 39 week appointment it appeared that Olive was still head down, but there wasn't much progress being made toward labor. We decided to go ahead and schedule the C-section. I was hoping to schedule on my due date, the 27th, which would give her another week to work on coming on her own, as well as giving me the reassurance that we waited as long as we could. Between scheduling the hospital and the doctors, Tuesday the 24th was going to be the day we were able to do it. I went home that day feeling a little uneasy. It was only three days early, but I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe it just wasn't the right day.

I'm a terrible decision maker. It doesn't matter what it is - which restaurant to have dinner, which color shirt to buy...what day to have a baby?

By that evening I'd told Sabian that I would likely call the doctor on Monday, cancel the C-section, schedule a regular doctor's appointment on my actual due date and then go from there. This would mean if I did have a C-section that it would send us into the week after my due date, but I felt like at least we'd have given her long enough to get here on her own, just like we did when Addie was born.

To be honest, part of me was a little scared. I just wanted to do the right thing. I've said that I really struggled when it came to the point that we knew we'd have to have a C-section with Addie. It just wasn't the way it was supposed to happen and I wanted her to pick the day, not us. But then once it was said and done, it was all smooth, I was fine and she was healthy and perfect. Since I'd already gone through all of that I didn't feel so torn up about it this time...but I still wondered if there was a right or wrong way to go about this.

I did pray about it and I really felt God knew my heart and my desires. The next morning I woke up and as I was laying in bed, thinking about everything, I felt a confirmation. Just the night before I thought I had a plan, but this very next morning I knew what was confirmed, and that was to keep our appointment for the 24th to meet our little girl.

So, our plans were in motion. I had two wonderful families who would be taking care of Addie for us while we were in the hospital, our bags were packed and, as if on cue, my nesting instinct had kicked in the week before. Granted, it might have been nice if I'd felt it in the months before, rather than just a few days before, but it did prompt me to get the house clean and do some other things that just had to be done. Thankfully, this time, as opposed to when I had Addie, it didn't mean painting anything.

Olive's birthday week also happened to be the week of our vacation bible school at church. It meant that we had to take a backseat to helping, but it also meant that Addie would have something to look forward to each night.

This was a tough thing, leaving Addie. While Sabian has been away on various trips in her three years, the two of us haven't spent a night apart. It's just worked out that way. I was comforted knowing she was in excellent hands and had prepared her in the weeks preceding Olive's debut, so she knew what was going to happen. I had no worries that she would do well, but me...well, if I thought about it, really thought about it, the tears came knocking. But, when it came down to the time for us to go, I was fine, mostly because I think I'd gotten all of that out of the way and was excited to move forward as our family of four, and also because I was so thankful for those who were pitching in to help us out and I knew Addie was going to have fun.

That brings us to Olive's actual birthday, which I think deserves a post all its own.

I am thankful for God's timing and confirmation and that He recognizes the desires of our hearts.

She's here

From this:

To this:

And then this:

It's been over a month since I've blogged and there's much to catch up on, but this, well, this is the big news.

Olive Mae Chaney made her appearance on Tuesday, July 24 at 7:34 in the morning. Weighing 6 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 20 inches long, her sweet disposition and bright eyes have made their mark on the three of us Chaneys who have been anxiously waiting for her to join our family.


Overwhelmed. If I type any more than that I'll dissolve into tears. This would be of no surprise to my patient husband, who is sitting next to me on the couch while we watch the Olympics, as it is surprising he hasn't yet had to build an ark to make it through the tears that have accompanied these post-partum days.


Okay, okay, I'll type a little more but I warn you - coupled with just finishing watching the girls take home gold in gymnastics, you might have to borrow a boat to find me tomorrow.


I'm just so thankful. We have two healthy girls. Two. And yes, we are adjusting, but we're a week in and it feels so good to be a family of four.


I'm thankful for good...no, great friends who took amazing care of Addie while we were in the hospital. I prayed and prayed and hoped she would do well and she did.


I'm thankful for those from our church family who have provided meals for us since we've been home. Between those meals and their leftovers, I haven't had to cook a meal in a week.

It's after midnight and I suppose I should be responsible and head to bed. I think the nap I was able to take this afternoon has given me a false sense of restfulness. I should know by now I can't "store up" that rest!

More details on Olive's birthday and the weeks preceding her big day will be forthcoming. For now, my heart is full of thanks.

Welcome to the world my sweet Olive.

Something(s) old, something new

I'm resisting the urge to nap in favor of a quick blog post. Should this post be as quick as I'm imagining, I may be lucky enough to squeeze in the nap, too.

Feeling generally uncomfortable and simply getting through our days seems to have kept me from posting many updates. Little things, like just now when I found my ear phones in my bedside table drawer so that I didn't have to actually get up and search for them, make me happy. Lately, it really is the little things.

It has even been the little things, and some big things, that seem to set off my emotions lately. I think it's a combination of the dwindling of days until we meet our girl and the surfacing of a lot of other things. In the midst of this, plenty has been happening in our little household. Mostly the every day things, but also the busyness that comes with ministry, parenting and baby preparing.

Baby preparing. My last doctor's appointment was pretty routine - strong heartbeat, measuring on target and baby still head up. I'll go in for another appointment next week. People keep asking if I think she will come early and I honestly don't know. She is moving quite a bit these days and at times, quite uncomfortably. I can't get over how often she gets the hiccups and there is part of me that thinks she's going to be bigger than her sister but again, I have no inkling as to whether I will make it to July 27 or if she'll need to come early. Long story short, if she turns and I go in to labor on my own, I can attempt the VBAC. If this doesn't happen, we'll schedule a C section. With Addie they let me go to my due date before we scheduled, so we'll see what they say this time around. No matter what, we're always praying God's hand over all of it and most of all, our sweet girl.

So here I am, 34 weeks. Tomorrow I roll over to 35 weeks. Really only five to go? At times I see the light and other days it feels like an eternity!

This past weekend we had a quick visit from Sabian's mom and the two oldest nephews from his side of the family. It's unfortunate that a funeral for one of my mother-in-law's friends brought them down south, but fortunate in that they continued on further south to pay us a visit. It was fast - arrived Sunday afternoon and left Monday morning, but Addie really enjoyed having Grandma Cheryl here and playing with her cousins. Arriving on Father's Day, we were able to have lunch, rest, pay the beach a late afternoon/early evening visit and then went on to dinner.

Speaking of Father's Day, we had fun celebrating Sabian. I had a gift in mind for him but wanted to make sure Addie got in on the fun, too. Some of the photos I haven't yet downloaded, but here are some grainy iPod pictures:

Painting her hand print (and getting bit by mosquitoes in the process.)

Sabian's eyes are closed but I love Addie's pose/expression.

Showing Daddy her "I love you this much" card.

I hope and pray Sabian knows how much we love and appreciate him. I'm not always the best at expressing or showing it, and I am trying to be better, but he sure is good to us.

Sabian challenges me. Often those challenges come in the form of him simply being him. He is so sacrificial in his love, in his giving, in how he treats other people. These traits often stir conviction in my heart and I know God is only using him to reveal things to me, about me.

This brings me to the "something new" part of this post. 

Carving out time in my days for Bible reading/devotions has not been an easy task for me. These days I find myself praying throughout the day while getting other things done but actually sitting down to read and study doesn't come easy. I'm not letting myself off the hook - it's not because I'm unable to find time. There's certainly time, I just don't make it. Ouch. I'm a firm believer in that we make time for what we want to make time for. That can go for anything.

I have intentions and books I want to order to aid in my study but have yet to fulfill those intentions and have not yet ordered the books. It will happen, I do have confidence in that, but I haven't done it. There are plenty of reasons - laziness, busyness, desire for and lack of accountability, lack of budgeting for aforementioned books and many others.

Recently I've been reading a lot of buzz around #SheReadsTruth. I've been seeing it on Instagram and peppered throughout a few of the blogs I follow. Until today I hadn't done any research about it, but what I gathered from what I was reading was that it had something to do with daily devotions, journaling, reading a study along with others.

Today as I was catching up on some of those blogs it came up again. I clicked on some of the links that lead back to what it's all about and ended up reading about how it got started, what it's about, who is involved, etc.

Now, I tend to be a little skeptical when it comes to things like this, and maybe overly so. I'm positive that is why I initially dismissed it when I first came across photos and blog posts about it. I think it has something to do with the popularity and seeming trendiness of things like this and making sure that it is solid and not just some christian/Bible/Jesus fad. I know, shame on me, but even in the blogs I read that are written by christian women I just want to make sure I'm feeding my mind and heart with things that are true.

Upon my further investigation of #SheReadsTruth I found that it is based on studies that are already established via an app (and can be followed on their website), YouVersion. I decided to check it out but as I searched for it in the iTunes app store my search kept bringing up a Bible app I already had installed on my iPod. I was frustrated and a little confused until I discovered that this app I'd had all along was the same app #SheReadsTruth was referring to - it's not just a Bible app like I'd originally thought, but includes a whole host of other features, including devotional plans. These plans are the plans #SheReadsTruth uses and has used to build a community of Bible reading, studying women.

In a nutshell, a couple of women who are friends and were desiring to read their Bibles more and looking for accountability started doing one of these studies together, blogging and tweeting about it, journaling about it and launching a website to house the concept.


They've started a new study today, "Living the Surrendered Life," and I've decided to try it. I'm not sure I'll Instagram/Facebook about it, but I'd like to give the reading and journaling aspect of it a try. I've done all of the preliminaries - creating my account, subscribing to the study, updating my profile, all of that fun stuff. But now comes the hardest part - actually doing it.


If you're reading this and have heard about #SheReadsTruth or you launch your own investigation into it and start it, let me know. I'd be interested in hearing what you think.


I am thankful for much - five weeks to go in our baby countdown, a husband and father in Sabian that I wouldn't want to live life without and a God who offers me grace.

A little Chaney business & 31 weeks

Phew. It's been a busy, but good week ending in a more relaxing weekend. 

Rewind to last weekend. After my last post we had a couple of days left in the weekend, one of which was spent at the beach. Well, a couple of hours anyway. Living this close to the beach, it is certainly a luxury to be able to steal away to the white sands for just a couple of hours or so.

It was nice to have an extended weekend with the Memorial Day holiday, so on Monday we took off to do a little shopping and strolling and eating, just the three of us. We also stopped off at the hospital to visit a woman we know from church. She and her husband are very special to us and are the kind of couple you want in your corner when you need good sounding boards for a variety of topcis, including marriage-related things. They're good...they're really good.

Tuesday was a routine visit for me to the doctor, this time including an ultrasound. We got a good look at baby sister. Well, everything except her face. Like Addie when we were hoping to see her sweet face in my belly, our yet-to-be-named sweet girl was hiding from us. Hands and feet blocked our view. Yes, I said feet. Once again, just like Addie, this girl is also heads up, butt down, hands and feet up by her face. In fact, at one point during the ultrasound she had one of her feet resting on top of her head. My acrobatic girls.

I hit 32 weeks yesterday but here's a 31 week photo from our beach jaunt last week:

Still tired, still feeling some back pain, but nothing out of the ordinary. Hard to believe it is June and next month we will finally get a look at this girl.

Her current position didn't come as a total surprise to us, although I went in thinking she might be head down. Maybe still not quite in the right position, but her movements have been different than Addie's so it made me think she might be turned differently. Either way, we were just happy to hear that she looked good and is measuring well. There's still time for her to turn, but I have to say, I'm comfortable with whatever happens this time around. Last time I really struggled with coming to terms with having to have a C-section, but in the end, everything went so smoothly that I really couldn't have asked for it to go better. This time,  we're open to a VBAC with the understanding that the circumstances pretty much have to be ideal for that to happen. If they're not, it will be back into the OR for us, hopefully with the same team we had last time. We just want a strong, healthy girl and a safe arrival.

Wednesday we were able to take a break from the trip between Wewa and Panama City (now made longer due to road construction on that never ending two lane road) but Thursday brought a fun trip to the beach, meeting up with friends Lee Ann and Jason and their kiddos and Betty Jo and Buddy and their boys. The occasion was a belated celebration for Micah's (first in line on the "dinosaur") second birthday. We spent the day chatting and playing and sunning - the kids did great and lasted much longer than we expected. The Chaneys have the tan lines to prove it! It was a good day spent with great friends.

This time with sweet baby Korban.

Our weekend has consisted more of domestic duties, some of which were done by my wonderful husband while Addie and I were out of the house for a couple of hours this morning. It was a pleasant surprise to come home to clean, crumb-free floors and empty trash cans. I sure do love him.

I am thankful for a good week, a good baby report and a relaxing weekend.